No More Secrets
by SilentAssassin786
Summary: Watch as a Naruto aware of his heritage and tenant reveals his true self at the chunin exams, aided by our favorite two perverts (No pairing/s decided yet. Rated M for future lemons.
1. Chapter 1- The True Uzumaki Naruto!

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

Uzumaki Naruto closed his eyes, using his other senses to visualize Kiba, who was laughing madly as he raced down the stairs with Akamaru. "Yahoo! We're so lucky Akamaru, we got the dobe!" he barked". Naruto closed his eyes and smirked. He used his sensory skills to detect Kiba's skill, and it was laughable for a clan heir. He wouldn't even have to take off his resistance seals for this one. He'd somehow managed to survive against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death, and was just waiting to see the look on the ugly snake's face when he saw that his seal hadn't affected him. Naruto had met the fox when he was five, and had started to earn it's respect. He was able to control up to four tails of the Kyubi's chakra. So Orochimaru's five pronged seal had not had any effect at all on him as he simply overpowered the seal **(AN: Take into consideration that Orochimaru is not a genius at fuinjutsu like Jiraiya or Minato)**. He could sense the snake's foul snake scent emanating from one of the Sound Jounins, meaning he was posing as one of them, and possibly had the support of the newly built ninja village.

"Ha, I won't even need one punch to beat you, dobe" Kiba boasted. Naruto rolled his eyes at him, he was really sick and annoyed of being underestimated, and with the Sandaime allowing him to reveal his true self during the exams, he couldn't wait for the moment. Upstairs, Kurenai grinned at Kakashi, "there's no way Naruto's winning this". Kakashi replied with a mere "Hn".

"The proctor coughed "Hajime", and the match began. Kiba grinned at Naruto and was about to make his move when suddenly, he felt a fist connect with his nose, and he was sent flying backwards. Landing on his back, he was allowed no time to register the pain as he felt a sharp stomp to the gut and he was sent flying into the sky. "U" he was kicked higher, "zu" he was kicked further higher, "ma" he felt an elbow to the gut, "ki" a heel kick to his mouth, and he was sent careening downwards. From upstairs, Naruto finished his sentence as he finished with a diving headbutt straight to Kiba's shoulder, "Naruto Rendan!". Kiba coughed out blood, and as the pain got to him, screamed until he lost consciousness.

The entire crowd, bar the Sandaime and Kakashi, were stunned. Even Sakura was speechless, _'since when was Naruto-baka this good?'_ she questioned herself. Meanwhile, Inner Sakura was raging- _' how dare the idiot be stronger than my Sasuke-kun?!'_ she screeched. As Naruto stepped off Kiba, kicking him in the face one last time for good measure, Akamaru whined at the bloodied state of his companion, and sprinted to him, trying to revive him. Medics rushed in, taking Kiba away on a stretcher, as Naruto walked nonchalantly up the stairs, ignoring all the sets of eyes that were glued to him.

Kurenai was furious, and she gave Naruto a piece of her mind. "I don't know since when you thought such behavior was acceptable!" she reprimanded him. Naruto lazily drawled at her "I don't know when you thought that you had any authority over me" further infuriating her. Ino snapped at him "Don't talk to Kurenai-sensei like that you baka! She's your sensei and superior, so listen to her!".

"That's where you're wrong" Naruto replied coolly, "she's not my sensei, which I'm thankful for, if her student's lousy performance in the exam is any indicator of her own skill. And she has no authority over me, only in wartime or on a mission am I required to accept orders from her. Otherwise, it's only my own sensei or the Hokage. However, since this is the Chunin Exams, even Kakashi-sensei cannot fully control me, nor the Hokage. Only the exam proctor can, and since he has no problem, I suggest you stop chewing my brains out."

Kurenai was red with rage by this point, and turned to Kakashi, "Surely you won't allow him to just get away with this!" she fumed.

Kakashi shrugged "What can I say? Besides, he speaks the truth. Kiba had it coming, he's taunted and shamed Naruto too many times. He got what he deserved." Kurenai was about to start on Kakashi, when she was interrupted by the Hokage. "Enough", he ordered. "Naruto acted within the rules, and Kiba knew the risks involved. Let this be an eye-opener to all of you who don't know the horrors of this world of shinobi. If this were a battle, Kiba would've been dead now" the Hokage finished. Naruto mumbled something that suspiciously sounded like "he'll probably be dead anyway".

Kakashi agreed with this. He'd rather see the next generation see the reality of the shinobi world here rather than in the battlefield, where there was a much higher risk of death. He sighed, Naruto had been a little excessive with the beating he'd dished out to Kiba, and he'd have a word with him later. Naruto voiced out his thoughts "Of course, I cannot help but wonder how you'd have treated Kiba if he were to have 'taken care of the dead last'. Would he too be reprimanded, or be applauded for getting rid of the 'village's nuisance'?". Kurenai's silence told him everything he needed to. He smirked in victory and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.

The Sandaime frowned at Naruto's behavior. Though he understood why Naruto had lashed out, he couldn't help but worry for the Inuzuka boy. Meanwhile, the rest of the Konoha nin were looking at Naruto as if he was the nephew of the Sage of the Six Paths. Hinata stuttered out " Yo-you shou-shouldn't ha-have d-done th-that Na-Naruto kun" she stopped midway from the glare Naruto gave her. "Focus on your own match" he retorted. _'Hyuga Hinata'_ he thought, _'stalks me everywhere, sees how the villagers treat me, and doesn't do anything about it. Why? Because apparently daddy dear looks down upon her and she has no self-confidence. Hmmph-pathetic'_ Naruto thought as he saw Rock Lee sprint down to face Gaara, jinchurikki of the Ichibi. He was amazed by Lee's speed, and even with his Biju-enhanced senses had a hard time following Rock Lee's movements once he'd taken off his weights and activated 5 gates. He was sure Lee would win until Gaara was revealed to be a mere sand clone. He felt bad for Lee, who had to overcome so many handicaps to even qualify as a shinobi. Right there, he secretly vowed to himself to do everything he could to help Rock Lee, a fellow victim of ignorance and underestimation.

After Neji had decimated Hinata, Naruto vowed he would destroy Neji if they were to meet in the finals. Not out of anger for what he did to Hinata, but due his attitude and concepts on fate. He went downstairs with everybody else to receive his number, and grinned predatorily at Neji when they were paired together, who merely glanced at him with contempt.

As he made his outside, Kakashi caught up with him. Naruto sensed this and interrupted Kakashi before he could start lecturing him, "Spare me one of your lectures senpai, I'm not in the mood". Kakashi frowned at him "Just because Hokage-sama allowed you to remove your mask don't go antagonizing fellow Konoha-nin. And I thought you would know better than to address me like that in public" Kakashi reminded him. Naruto rolled his eyes at him "I scanned the surroundings beforehand. Do have some trust in me, would you?" . Anyways, I'll be off to the hot springs, I'm sure Ero-sennin is there, see you in a month senpai" Naruto greeted before shun-shining to the hot springs. Kakashi sighed, he had to go to teach Sasuke, lest the spoiled brat become even more of a flight risk and the council get on his backside again. _'This is going to be a long month. Tch, troublesome'_ he complained internally before heading off to discharge the most unstable of his charges.

Meanwhile, Naruto's suspicions were revealed to be true, the old pervert was glued to the fence of the hot springs, peeping and conducting his 'research' as he liked to call it. "Oi Ero-sennin" Naruto called out, "quit peeking and teach me" he demanded. "Shut up you brat!" Jiraiya hissed, "do you want to get us caught?".

Naruto snorted "More like get you caught". "Oh all right, I'll teach you" Jiraiya relented, and Naruto relaxed for a bit. He paid for his mistake as Jiraiya suddenly appeared behind him and struck him, only for Naruto to poof into smoke. Naruto quickly appeared behind Jiraiya and struck him with a kunai, only for Jiraiya too to poof into smoke, and for him to suddenly feel something sharp sticking against the small of his back. Jiraiya smirked "Your time in ANBU has done you well, Namikaze-sama. But you still have a lot of way to go before you catch up with me". He released Naruto and smiled, "though I must say, switching with one of your many shadow clones in your hideouts on the spot, ingenious" Jiraiya applauded.

"When did you make a shadow clone? I didn't even see you do the handseals or say the words" Naruto questioned. Jiraiya scoffed "Oh please, you'd think a shinobi of my stature would know how to do jutsus wordlessly or seals. I too switched with one of my clones. Ever since you've told me about your hideouts in the village, every time I'm near the village, I send a few shadow clones to check that Danzo or none of his lackeys are snooping around them".

"And, did you find anything unusual?" Naruto hoped that his secret hadn't been compromised, and was grateful towards his godfather for the extra protection. "Well, not really. But one of clones did pick up that sickly pale boy you told me about. He was roughly your age and was scouting around one of your hideouts. He had a ROOT headband like you'd told me, though I let him go since he couldn't find anything so I let him go. Boy had a bit of an unhealthy fascination with penises, if you ask me. Was muttering a lot about them". **(AN: Extra points for guessing who that is xD)**

Jiraiya took Naruto to one of the Hokage's personal training grounds, and set up a big pool filled with water balloons. Naruto protested at this "Ero-sennin, we have to train, not play!".

"We will be training, gaki. I'm going to teach you the Yondaime's personal jutsu, the Rasengan. There are three steps to mastering it. The water balloons are part of the first step. Mind you, only your father, your senpai and myself have been able to learn this jutsu, so you may find yourself not up to the task" Jiraiya mocked.

Naruto countered "Hmph, just watch me Ero-sennin" and picked up the water balloon, listening closely to Jiraiya's instructions.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi gazed proudly through his viewing ball as Naruto tried to burst the balloon through sheer chakra rotation. "My my, your son's growing up pretty fast Minato. One day he'll surpass all of us" Sarutobi chuckled as Naruto threw the water balloon into the ground in frustration and started again.

 _later that day..._

Naruto collapsed on the ground, exhausted from the day's training. Once he quickly mastered the first step, Jiraiya exponentially increased the difficulty of his training. He had Naruto make 20 clones, 5 of which went to practice taijutsu against a clone of Jiraiya on the water, another 5 went to practice and increase his jutsu repertoire from a few scrolls Ero-sennin gave him, another 5 focused on how to dispel genjutsu, whilst the last five practiced sealing. The toll on maintaining the clones and mastering the much harder second step of the Rasengan eventually got to Naruto, as he was now mumbling sleepily "just give me five minutes Ero-sennin, and I'll start again" before yawning and going to sleep on the ground. Jiraiya laughed at this _'he looks just like you, Minato'_ he thought before picking up his godson and shun-shining away to his apartment.


	2. Chapter 2-Secrets Unraveled

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

 _One month later_ **  
**

The final of the chunin exams was about to begin in a hour, and the entire village was brimming with excitement, eager to see some action. Most of the villagers were flocking to see their precious Uchiha-sama or the esteemed Hyuga prodigy beat down the 'demon-boy'. Secretly though, some of the more vulnerable civilians, such as the elderly, the pregnant and the hospital patients were evacuated to the underground safety bunkers. Jiraiya had gotten wind of a joint invasion masterminded by Orochimaru aided and abetted by Suna, confirming his suspicions that Orochimaru had created Otogakure. All the chunin, jounin and ANBU had been informed to stay alert. Naruto too had been present at that meeting, and was tasked with nullifying Suna's jinchurikki-Gaara. Jiraiya's spy network had also discovered some more troubling news-Root was still alive and kicking. To make it worse, he had almost irrefutable proof that the old war hawk Danzo had conducted dealings with his former snake teammate in the past, meaning there was a possibility that Danzo somehow had a hand in this. The Sandaime was disgusted at his rival, and would've focused on taking down Root were it not were for the impending invasion. so he'd opted for a smarter course of action. Sarutobi had Jiraiya make a list of all spies working for his spy network, officially and unofficially, and got Shikaku Nara to figure out how many of them were Root spies. He did the same with the ANBU, hauling in the ANBU commander. The results were worrying, over 10 of Jiraiya's spies and 20 of the ANBU were affiliated to Danzo. Sarutobi had the Root ANBU imprisoned and interrogated, only for a seal to be found on their tongues, preventing them from spilling any information. Jiraiya's spies they couldn't do much about now, since he'd need to find adequate replacements for them, which was easier said than done, and since most of them operated outside of the Land of Fire and the Fire Daimyo's jurisdiction, little could be done about them at such short notice.

Thus, all the village shinobi were tense. Even Sarutobi was wearing his battle armor underneath his Hokage robes. Jiraiya stuck close to his former sensei, knowing his former teammate well enough to know that he would be here personally. He was under the disguise of his Transparent Escape Technique. He was just waiting for a chance to face down his former teammate. It would be ironic if Orochimaru, who had badmouthed Jiraiya's skills as a shinobi many a time in the past, and called his infamous invisibility technique tactless, to perish at the hands of his so-called 'buffoon' teammate. Jiraiya saw Naruto enter the stadium, and smirked ' _It was about time you got rid of that orange monstrosity kid'_.

Naruto looked up to the Sandaime, who smiled at him. He nodded back and turned his attention towards his opponents, mainly the Sand siblings. He would have to quickly neutralize them, especially the youngest-Gaara of the Sand. Kurama had told him about how Shukaku caused his hosts to go crazy, and thus were capable of more collateral damage than other jinchurikkis, due to their unstableness and unpredictability. The others were shocked at Naruto's appearance. He'd reverted to his ANBU appearance, consisting of black overalls, a grey flak jacket, metal guards on his arms alongside gloves, along with spiked sandals for rough terrains. He had numerous pouches on his pant, filled with standard ninja gear, as well as a dozen sealing scrolls as backup. Kakashi saw him, and eye-smiled. "Ah Naruto, I'm glad you wore this. Sure does bring back a lot of fond memories" Kakashi reminisced. Naruto agreed "It sure does, senpai". Sakura, who was standing nearby, was confused by this. "Kakashi-sensei, why is he calling you 'senpai'? And Naruto-baka, think you can act cool and become better than my Sasuke-kun? Forget it. Sasuke-kun is way better than you ever could be!" Sakura declared. Ino, who was sitting next to her, nodded vigorously in agreement. Naruto just rolled his eyes at this, which enraged the girls even more. Sakura was about to berate him further when she was shut up by Kakashi, "Sakura, be quiet. I will not allow any of my ANBU lieutenants to be disrespected by a common genin such as yourself. So I advise you to speak no further less you wish to be charged with inappropriate behavior towards an ANBU lieutenant".

Sakura and Ino's mouths were hung open. "ANBU lieutenant?" they chorused, dumbstruck. "Yes" Kakashi replied, "he has been in ANBU since he was ten, during which he has been under my command. And a damn fine soldier too. Besides Itachi, me and Jiraiya-sama, Naruto has completed the most missions for the village. He is arguably the strongest shinobi of his age".

The two kunoichis were flabbergasted. "But-but, Naruto was the dead-last at the academy!" Sakura screeched, "how can he be so powerful?".

Kakashi smirked "Naruto left behind a shadow clone to pose as himself for the past three years at the academy. As for his lack of ability, the shadow clone deliberately messed up and played pranks to be underestimated by everyone else. Prior to that, he was secretly under the care of Jiraiya-sama and myself, and we had warned him to mask his true abilities".

Ino questioned him "Why did he do that sensei? Why would you tell Naruto to do that?".

Kakashi shook his head "That is not my place to tell you"; _'you're about to find out soon anyways'_ he internally mused.

The proctor, Gekko Hayate ordered all the participants bar Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto to leave the ground. He nodded at Naruto appreciatively, who had just managed to subdue Kabuto and Baki, who were then immediately handed over to Inoichi and Ibiki. That was how Jiraiya came to know of the invasion, as Naruto and Hayate were also secretly members of his spy network besides ordinary shinobi of Konoha, of which only the Hokage and Yugao, Hayate's partner were aware of.

Neji grinned cruelly "Must feel nice to be considered an equal to royalty like me mustn't it, dobe?" to which Naruto quipped "I thought you were a servant of the Branch House?". The elders of the Hyuga Main House laughed heartily at this, glad to see the Branch House be reminded of their place. Hayate, seeing as Neji was about to attack Naruto announced the start of the match and launched back.

Immediately, almost everyone around the stadium felt a near-suffocating killing intent pressing down on them. The civilians were finding it difficult to even sit properly, their backs being bent downwards by the pressure exerted on them. "Spare me your pathetic rage, Hyuga" Naruto spoke, "I know all about the division between Main House and Branch House. I know about the Caged Bird seal the Branch Members are forced to wear for their entire life, and it makes me sick. Both at the Main House, and at you". Said Main House members, particularly the elders narrowed their eyes at this. In their eyes, it would not do to have the name of the Hyugas, the strongest clan in the village to be slandered by the village pariah. They would've spoken out against it were it not for the intense chakra still pressing down on them.

"How can someone do that to their own family, to their own flesh and blood? Even the Uchiha trait of killing one's own for more power is less hideous than this. Atleast that doesn't entail the victim to a life of servitude" Naruto spoke out.

"So you know then? You know that everything is predetermined at birth, that date sets everything in stone. That is why people cannot change, why a deadlast such as yourself will always remain a deadlast. That's why you'll never become Hokage. Only few individuals are destined to do so, and as such you are not one of them".

"Is that so, Neji? Then why was it during the preliminary rounds you tried to defy your own fate? Why was it that you tried to attack and kill Hinata, the same Hinata who you have to bow to and protect your whole life? Were you not trying to change your own destiny? Or..." Naruto then took off the killing intent and masked his chakra signature, making the environment eerily silent; much like the quiet before a storm, and uttered, "is it because your daddy dearest sacrificed himself for Hinata's father?".

Neji grew enraged at this, and quite a lot of the crowd gasped at this, not knowing the truth about the 'Hyuga Affair'. He lashed out with a wild punch, too confined within his own rage to even activate his Byakugan. Naruto easily dodged Neji's strikes, who proceeded to fall back when slightly cooled down. "How dare you, how dare you mock me?! How dare you mock my father?! You claim to know of the seal we Branch House members are burdened with, yet you know nothing?! How it feels to have a curse a burdened upon you since birth, which you had never asked for?!"

"And that is where you're wrong, Neji. I do know how that feels like. Even better than you do. You see, I am the jinchurikki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Kyubi. And do you know who sealed it into me? My very own father, the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze". The whole stadium was stunned into silence at this, completely shocked. Even Orochimaru masquerading as the Kazekage barely managed to suppress a gasp. Then, after a few moments, the civilians started to protest and deny Naruto's claims. Naruto looked up at the Sandaime for support, who stood up and publicly backed him up "The boy speaks the truth. He is indeed the son of my deceased successor, and his identity was hidden to keep him safe from his parent's many enemies in Iwa and Kumo. His mother was Kushina Uzumaki, also known as the Red Death. His father hoped he would be seen as a hero, but it seems he was too trusting of his own village" Sarutobi glared at the villagers for extra effect.

Nejj gulped, before mustering up some courage "That means nothing. Son of the Yondaime or not, you're still the deadlast. Always were and always will be" Neji smirked, before announcing "You're within my Field of Divination! Eight Trigram: Sixty-Four Palms" and he moved towards Naruto at brisk speed. To his shock, Naruto managed to dodge the first four. Shrugging it off as a fluke, he shouldered on. However, even after all sixty-four strikes, he still was unable to land a hit on him. Panting, he grasped his knees for comfort, back bent over uncomfortably. "How-how did you manage to do that?" Neji asked, bewildered. Naruto answered "Simple. I just judged from your body stance and your momentum where the strikes would come. Now then, if you don't mind", before attacking Neji with a simple C-Rank wind jutsu, who quickly activated his Kaiten to simply brush it away. The Hyuga elders got off their butts at this revelation, that a Branch House Member could use such an advanced Main House technique, whilst Hiashi Hyuga, the clan head simply sighed and closed his eyes "your son is a genius, Hizashi. If only you could've been in the Main House. Suppose I'll have to tell him the truth after all".

Meanwhile, Naruto smirked "Ahh, I was wondering when you would bring out the infamous Hyuga defence. Which you so proudly boast to be unbreakable. Well, guess that'll be put to the sword" Naruto took out his sword which he'd brought with him in a storage seal. "Hey, you Hyuga bastards, watch as I break your so called 'unbreakable defense' and embarrass you in front of the village" Naruto taunted them, pointing at the Main House elders with the tip of his sword. He quickly ran to where Neji was standing, and starting running around in circles around him. Seeing this, Neji started rotating again, preventing Naruto from moving any closer. Naruto grinned, and stopped running. Neji kept on rotating, not wanting to risk giving Naruto an opening. Naruto smiled _'he's walked right into it'_ he thought before bringing out one of his water storage seals and letting the water out into the ground. He made a shadow clones, and they both went through a series of handseals. The clone manipulated the water, whilst the original began running around Neji once more, with his sword pointed towards him, glowing. This time however, Naruto ran in the opposite direction of Neji, whilst his clone mixed the water along Naruto's sword, a combination of wind and water, creating a miniature storm, at the eye of which stood Neji, who was finding it harder to rotate due to the reverse gyration of Naruto.

"Ingenious" Kakashi uttered when he realized Naruto's plan. Sasuke scowled and turned around. Sakura asked "What do you mean sensei? I don't understand".

"Sakura, watch closely. Neji is being forced to slow down. That is due to Naruto moving in a counter direction. Not only that, he is augmenting his speed with wind, making it harder for Neji to counter. On top of that, he is combining the wind with the water to create a mini storm, which will eventually suffocate Neji and block him out". Sakura gasped when she understood. Sakura whispered dejectedly "Naruto, just how powerful are you?", feeling even more left out by both her teammates incredible strength.

In the ground, Neji was eventually forced to slow down and stop. The eyes popped out of the Hyuga members when they saw their prided defense eclipsed in front of the entire village and so many foreign dignitaries. Naruto spared them a glance and grinned smugly at them. He turned his attention to Neji, who lay on the ground, panting wildly. "So Neji, now do you believe me? Now do you realize the foolishness of your ideals?", seeing as Neji was too exhausted to reply, Naruto spoke "For too long I've had to hide myself behind a mask of orange and stupidity. No more. No more secrets. I only have one more secret to reveal. Kakashi-senpai, Uchiha-san" he addressed the duo, looking at them intently, "while your Sharingan eyes are good, I cannot help but wonder" Naruto trailed off, before grinning madly, as his eyes glowed Sharingan-red "just how far do they pale in comparison to mine" he finished as his Sharingan spun and evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The entire stadium gasped in shock, their mouths hanging open. Even Kakashi was shocked _'h-how'_ he stammered internally. Sasuke was seething with jealousy _'Where did you get so much power from, dobe?! At this rate I'll never be able to beat Itachi'_ Sasuke raged, as he saw everyone's attention on Naruto and his new, unusual Sharingan which was shaped like a fuma shuriken. The 'Kazekage' admitted reluctantly "The Yondaime's son is exceedingly strong, Hokage-dono. Though I wonder whether he could compare to Gaara", knowing that the Kazekage was a very proud man, not wanting his secret to be revealed. "You believe so, Kazekage-dono" Sarutobi smiled, knowing full well it was Orochimaru under the Kazekage robes. He'd have to thank Jiraiya later for his spy network, it was proving to be a god-send.

Naruto revealed "I've always hated the Uchiha. All of them, except for two. One, whose eyes were given to me, and the other, who was the most kind-hearted individual I have ever known. You may know him as Itachi Uchiha". At the name of the perpetrator of the Uchiha clan massacre, the crowd stiffened, fear being instilled into their minds by his name. "The Uchiha got what they deserved. They were nothing more than a bunch of power hungry, jutsu-stealing warmongering thieves. Allow me to shed light on the true events concerning the demise of the Uchiha clan..." Naruto disclosed the true reason why the Uchiha were killed off, and just why Sasuke was the sole survivor.

The entire crowd was shell-shocked. They all instinctively turned to Sasuke, resentment and anger growing within them for the actions of his clan, and also as to how they'd treated him like a prince. All of them were ashamed of themselves, for their undue pampering of the Uchiha, and their mistreatment of the Yondaime's son. "Danzo-san" Naruto talked to the seemingly crippled war-hawk "do you just whose eyes are these?". Seeing the man's confusion, Naruto elaborated "They're his eyes. Oh yes, I have with me the ultimate Mangekyou Sharingan in existence, Shisui Uchiha's eyes". The normally unemotional war-hawk's mouth fell open. But before he could ask him about it, Naruto turned his back to him, facing the Kage Box. "You must be wondering how that's possible. Since you are in possession of Shisui's eye" he spoke, apparently still addressing him; "well, like Itachi nee-san used to say, you're already under my genjutsu" though Danzo had the distinct feeling he was addressing the Kage Box this time. Danzo's sole visible eye widened as he realized the implications ' _the invasion, they know!'_ He secretly ordered his Root members to stand down, not wanting to be caught red-handed".

Up in the Kage Box, an explosion occurred, and the Kage Box was covered in smoke as members of the audience started attacking the others at random. The invasion had begun...


	3. Chapter 3-Chaos reigns

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

Orochimaru cursed his luck as he removed the Kazekage robes _'Damn Minato's brat! I'll have to get rid of him before the Akatsuki start sniffing around. I'll have to get Sasuke anyhow, he's the only one I can go_ after'. From a partial clearing of the smoke, he signalled Kabuto to begin the plan, only to see Kabuto to transform into the Kyubi brat, who stuck him the finger before poofing away into oblivion. _'A shadow clone'_ he realised. He'd ordered Kabuto not to try contacting him for the past week, as to avoid any suspicion, and he now cursed himself. As the Sound Four drew up a barrier and sealed the Kage Box from outside interference, he realised he had most probably been set up. But that wouldn't get in his way now. He finally had his accursed former sensei right where he wanted him. "Kukuku, Sarutobi sensei" Orochimaru circled him like a predator to its prey, "I finally have you where I want".

And then a game-changing variable for which Orochimaru had not accounted for revealed himself. A deep voice rumbled from the corner of the barrier as Jiraiya moved out of the shadows "Yes. I finally have where I want you, Oro", his eyes containing a fiery presence that sent chills down Orochimaru's spine.

Orochimaru cried out "You! What are you doing here you stupid pervert?!", as he was slowly backed into the corner by the pair".

Jiraiya shook his head in disgust "My my Oro, to think you would stoop so low, turn so pathetic. You know what, I might not even have to use Senjutsu for this" Jiraiya mocked his once upon a time brother-figure. "You lie!" Orochimaru retorted, the fear evident in his voice. _'Senjutsu! Since when was the baka capable of using senjutsu?! Bah, screw this, I'll have to bring them out'_ Orochimaru decided as he increased their distance and began flashing through handseals. Once he finished, he smugly watched as two coffins rose out from the ground, carrying a special surprise for his former sensei and pervert teammate. Sarutobi broke the silence as they faced off "We thought you'd do something like this, Orochimaru-kun, so we let you".

"What do you mean, you old fool?" Orochimaru hissed, thinking his sensei was trying to bluff him. Jiraiya answered "What he means, Oro-kun", smirking as Orochimaru scowled at his childhood nickname which he'd always detested, "is that one of my spies intercepted one of your spies trying to leave with a list of Konoha's kinjutsu. One of which was the Nidaime's personal Reanimation jutsu. We didn't think much of it then, until we found out about the invasion". Jiraiya smirked, happy to leave his long-tongued teammate tongue-tied **(AN: Mind the pun)** for once.

"And?! You were able to figure out the rest of my plan with just that much information?!" disbelief evident in Orochimaru's voice as he realised this had all been a set-up. Jiraiya responded "Oh please teme. You're not nearly as deceptive as you've fooled yourself into thinking. We knew how much of a sucker you are for irony. What better way for Konoha to be burnt to the ground than by the hands of the men who developed it from the roots, eh Oro? Oh, and that's not all the information my spy network unearthed. We knew of your plans to unleash the Suna jinchurikki on the village. My godson is dealing with him as we speak. And by the way, that spy through whom we came to know of your scheme is, ironically my godson" Jiraiya spoke jovially clearly enjoying seeing his teammate's plans crash in front of him.

For Orochimaru it was going from bad to worse. It would've anyway been a hard task to take on his sensei, who thankfully had declined due to his age, but now he had to face his stupid teammate too, who had apparently mastered Sage Mode as well. Orochimaru gulped, remembering the last time they'd faced off. It had been when Orochimaru had defected from the village. Jiraiya had foolishly ran behind him to save him from his path of darkness, and it had resulted in Orochimaru trying to kill him. It had been the hardest fight of Orochimaru's life, not because of Jiraiya's exceeding strength in battle, no, but because this was his brother he was fighting. Orochimaru had severely underestimated him back then, and he'd almost paid for it with his life. The battle had ended with Jiraiya narrowly triumphing, watching with a broken heart as his best friend died a slow, painful death. He left before he could see Orochimaru breathe his last breath. He would've died too, were it not for Zetsu showing up and healing him...

Orochimaru shook his head, it was no use wasting time on old memories, besides that was long ago **(AN: Even though I don't like Orochimaru, I've always thought of him as a victim of the system).** He steeled himself, and retorted "So what? Just because you know my plan doesn't mean you can stop it" he sneered, "now watch, Sarutobi-sensei, Jiraiya-baka; as I use the Leaf's greatest heroes to raze it to the ground". The two coffins had fully risen out of the ground to reveal the First Two Hokages, Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, Gods amongst men, feared across the Elemental nations. Sarutobi and Jiraiya watched tensely for a second until...

 _Meanwhile, at the start of the invasion_

Naruto quickly made his way towards the edge of the village, where he sensed the Ichibi and Sasuke duking it out. He spammed his shadow clones to help wherever it was needed, since he'd stocked up on chakra storage scrolls beforehand. When he arrived at the fight scene, the scenario was far from ideal. He knew the Uchiha would run after Gaara to prove his superiority, but to give into the cursed seal? Despite hearing Itachi's sacrifice? He silently asked for forgiveness from Itachi nee-san should he have to use lethal force against his younger brother, which was looking increasingly probable. "Genin Uchiha, stand aside. The ANBU are here" he ordered. Sasuke sneered "All I see is a dobe coming in my way of power. Now move before I make you" Sasuke turned toward him, chidori in hand. Naruto sighed, he knew the bastard wouldn't listen to him, but it was worth an attempt. He created another of his clones, who engaged the Uchiha, slowly luring him away from the battle that was about to unfold.

 _Kurama warned him " **Don't**_ ** _let him unleash Shukaku brat. He's as powerful as me and won't think twice about destroying your village"_**. _"Thanks for the heads-up. And don't worry. Ero-sennin taught me a lot of ways on how to cut off a jinchurikki from their bijuu"_ Naruto replied as he faced down the unstable container, who'd morphed into a half-form of his tenant.

Gaara growled at him "You make me sick! All this power, and what do you do? You squander it. You fight for your so-called loved ones. You fight for others. The others who made your life hell, who despised you for something out of your control. One should fight for oneself, and one should love oneself. That is true strength! And unlike your loved ones Uzumaki, I am not a pathetic weakling. That is why I shall kill you and prove my existence, and make Mother happy!".

"Weak, huh? I too, was once upon a time a 'pathetic weakling'. It was my loved ones that took me in, that gave me strength. And it is my loved ones who give me the strength to fight. I do not wish to hurt you Gaara-san, you and I are alike, yet if you threaten my loved ones, I will do what I must. Oh, and by the way, please don't refer to Shukaku as your mother, it makes you even more of a creep" Naruto requested as he unsheathed his sword and moved at breakneck speed towards Gaara, moving too quick for the sand defense to react and plunging his sword into his heart. Gaara dropped to his knees as he choked out blood, the sand instantly moving to heal his heart, forcing him to leave his half-tanuki form and thus rendering him vulnerable. He sheathed his sword and began forming handseals. He plunged his fingers into Gaara's mid-section, onto his seal; "Fuinjutsu! Demon Barrier Seal!" he roared as Gaara's seal was written over by another seal. Gaara clutched his head, howling in pain "Mother? What did you do to my mother?!" Gaara raged.

Naruto rolled his eyes before striking his fellow jinchurikki in the neck, instantly rendering him unconscious. He was about to seal him into one of his prisoner scrolls before he heard a feminine voice. "Please don't. Please don't kill my brother" he turned around to see Gaara's sister, Temari on her knees, tears poring down her cheeks. Naruto sighed and moved towards her. She tried to move back before he placed a strong yet comforting hand on her shoulder "I would not kill your brother Temari-san, yet I cannot let you or your brother escape. You have attacked my village and will be punished accordingly. I hope you understand". She closed her eyes and nodded sadly, accepting defeat. Just then, Team 8 burst out of the bushes, panting and clutching their stomachs in pain.

"Genins Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi" Naruto ordered with authority, "as stated in the Charter of War established by the Nidaime Hokage-during wartime superior ranking ninjas possess the authority to spontaneously assign missions to their subordinates should they see fit to do so. I am assigning to you the safe transport of Temari to the POW holding tower". Seeing the nervousness etched onto their face, he had a few clones scan the area and eliminate themselves; "my clones tell me the area is devoid of any enemy shinobi. Rest assured, you should be able to execute your mission objective swiftly.

"This is troublesome" Shikamaru groaned before formulating a plan. "Okay, here's the plan. Ino, use your Mind Possession Jutsu on Temari. Choji, you carry Ino to the tower whilst I provide backup".

Ino complained "Shikamaru you lazy bum! You get to do nothing!". Shikamaru rolled his eyes as they began to carry out the plan. Naruto, seeing as his work here was done quickly sprinted towards the south border, where a few of his clones had been killed fighting a trio of Orochimaru's snake summons. Seeing as how Jiraiya was probably with the old man in the Kage Box, it was up to him to eliminate them. He reached the scene and began performing handseals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he slammed his palm onto the ground, pouring as much chakra as he could into the jutsu, even borrowing some from Kurama. He felt the exhaustion from such a high-level technique seep into his bones as three enormous plumes of smoke billowed, before dispersing to reveal three toads, "Gamahiro, Gamaken, Boss! I need your help to take down Orochimaru's snake summons".

It was Gamabunta who answered "We'll take care of it, gaki. You go see if you're needed elsewhere", taking out his sword and attacking the snakes with Gamaken and Gamahiro in tandem.

 _In the Kage Box_

Sarutobi and Jiraiya watched tensely for a second until...Orochimaru cackled "It worked! Now watch as I burn Konoh-umph" Orochimaru was disrupted as a well placed flying kick sent him flying away. The Nidaime sighed "Did you really think you could control the inventor of this jutsu? Gosh, kids these days. Saru, is that you? You've grown old". "Ye-yes sensei, it is me" Sarutobi stuttered, the little kid inside him reawakening as he saw his sensei.

Orochimaru spoke in a winced tone due to the kick to his jaw "Well, I may not have you under control, Nidaime-sama. Your brother however is a different matter. He is under my control. Yes, that will be even more poetic. Brother Vs brother. I always did wonder which of you was the superior".

"Neither of us" Hashirama answered, still under the control of Orochimaru.

"We grew up sparring against each other" Tobirama added.

"Where he had the better chakra control" Hashirama continued.

"He had the higher chakra level" Tobirama explained.

"While he had the Hiraishin" Hashirama spoke

"He had senjutsu" Tobirama elaborated.

"His Suiton"

"His mokuton"

"His healing"

"His Fuinjutsu"

"We were always equal" they spoke in perfect symphony, "one with the brawn, the other with the brain. Yin and yang. Brothers" they finished, staring at Orochimaru intently.

"Bah, I've had enough of your little family reunion. It's time to get down to business" Orochimaru interrupted. "Shodaime-sama, please kill Nidaime-sama". To Orochimaru's horror, the Shodaime stood rooted to the ground, not heeding his orders. "Did you seriously think boy," Tobirama questioned him "that you would have greater control over a subject of MY own jutsu than ME? Boy, shinobi standards are falling if you're anything to go by". Jiraiya sniggered while Sarutobi smiled fondly at his sensei. Tobirama barked "Hiruzen! Just who is this buffoon?".

Sarutobi felt worried for his safety as he answered the questioned "he's uh, he's my former student" Sarutobi mumbled. The killing intent he then experienced was enough to make him drop to his knees _._ Jiraiya shuddered _'Holy shit! This killing intent is almost as bad as the Kyubi's. And Sarutobi-sensei is his student. I'd hate to be his enemy"_ as he too found it hard to stand his ground. Tobirama spoke icily "and who is the young man behind you?"

"Oh, that's another of my students" Sarutobi answered, glad to see the killing intent being switched off. The Nidaime shifted his attention back to the snake sannin "Judging by the relative lack of power in this body, I take it you haven't perfected my jutsu. Well, that is going to prove to be a both a boon and a curse". Tobirama than began to go through handseals at a speed neither of the other three could even see. "Fuinjutsu: Reanimation Seal Release!" he struck himself in the chest. The others watched in shock as the cracks on Tobirama's face disappeared and his eye colour returned to it's original colour.

Orochimaru almost had a heart attack. Orochimaru managed to stutter out "Ho-how did y-you break out of the jutsu", fear coiling around him like a serpent **(AN: Again, I couldn't help myself. Once again, mind the pun)**. Tobirama glared at him before answering "This era's shinobi really are third-rate. Fuinjutsu, while being one of the more obscure shinobi arts, is also one of the most versatile and powerful. As the inventor of such a dangerous creation, did you not think I would create a fail-safe?".

"And now for you brother" the Nidaime announced as he moved towards his brother at incomprehensible speed. He repeated the process with him and moved aside. "Where am I?" Hashirama questioned as he came to his senses, "Brother is that you? And is that one of your students? Why does he look so old?" The Shodaime babbled on until his brother stepped in, "Yes brother, that is my student. And we've been called forth by this prick" The Nidaime pointed to Orochimaru, taking out the deadly Sword of the Thunder God, "to destroy the very village we created". Hashirama gazed at Orochimaru disappointingly. He was about to say something when he was intervened by his brother "Hashirama, no" he warned him

"Fine" the Shodaime huffed, before turning serious "let's not try to talk him into doing the right thing and skip to the fighting part. Brother, what is this purple barrier surrounding us? Is it a seal? Have you figured out how to break it?"

"Yes, over a dozen ways. And I've decided to go old-style" Tobirama responded, before flaring his chakra. Immediately, the barrier was blasted to smithereens, and the very ground of the Kage Box cracked. Sarutobi and Jiraiya had to hold on to Enma on his pole form, and Orochimaru was blown away to the edge of the podium, where he was prevented from escaping by a simple wood jutsu by the Shodaime. "ANBU, detain the four who were holding up the barrier" Tobirama commanded them, discerning their identity from the porcelain masks they wore. The ANBU, who were frozen to the spot seeing the first two Hokages back in the flesh, didn't move. "ANBU, do I have to repeat myself?" Tobirama barked. The ANBU snapped out of their daze and moved quickly.

 _'Such power, it's like a bijuu's. It's probably being felt for miles around. Unbelievable, this is called presence'_ Jiraiya thought in awe, stupefied by the display of power and authority. He was taken out of his thoughts as the Shodaime quickly trapped his former teammate in a forest of trees. "Keep him there brother" the Nidaime instructed his brother. "I can sense the same chakra signature emanating from him four times. Not only that, there quite a few chakra signatures the same as his, a few in the village. One of whom is incidentally an Uchiha. On the side-note, why do I sense so few Sharingan signatures in the village. What happened to all the Uchiha?" Tobirama questioned

"The curse mark" Jiraiya breathed, as horror overtook him. "I don't understand" the Shodaime spoke. Sarutobi elaborated "Orochimaru has given his followers a cursed mark seal, which makes them stronger. Apparently he added a bit of his own self into the seal".

"Orochimaru you bastard! What have you done?" Jiraiya angrily asked him.

"Hahahaha. I've finally done it. I found the secret to immortality, just like I always said I would".

"Silence you depraved soul!" Tobirama thundered. "Shodaime-sama, if you would" Tobirama mock-saluted his brother in a rare show of humour. Hashirama nodded to his brother and turned his attention to Orochimaru. He quickly formed handseals, and spoke out aloud "Mokuton: Tree Splitting Jutsu!". Immediately, a tree began to grow out of Orochimaru, and soon split into multiple trees, splitting Orochimaru as well. His pieces lay scattered on the ground, and his body began slowly healing itself. As his body fully reformed he tried to shun-shin away to find out that he could't. Horror took over him as he realised what had happened "when did you tag me with an anti-shun-shin seal?"

Tobirama described "When I kicked you. I was in control from the moment the coffin opened. I held myself back to figure out what was happening. Your chakra had a malicious intent seeping from it, and I analysed all of your stances. So tell me, how should I kill you? After all, even enemies honour dying requests, and you are from my own village? Which element should I use to kill you? Or should I use all of them? Let me in you on a secret only my brother knows. My mastery over jutsu extends beyond water. It covers all five basic elements. Why am I telling you this? Because you're not going to be alive long enough to tell anyone else? So, would you wish to die by my hands, or by your comrade who I sense is eager to take you down?" Tobirama turned towards Jiraiya, who had excitement etched all across his face. Jiraiya turned towards the three Hokages, who nodded in silent approval and made way for him.

"Orochimaru, you made it your life's goal to master every single jutsu. Well, let me show you a jutsu even you do not know" Jiraiya raised his hand and formed a Rasengan, before moulding it into a larger shuriken shaped structure.

"What is that jutsu?" Orochimaru hissed. "Tell me how you made it!" Orochimaru demanded.

"Wanting to learn new jutsu even at the brink of death. Inquisitive as always Oro" Jiraiya appraised.

"Don't flatter yourself too much Jiraiya, there's no way I'll be killed by an idiot like you!" Orochimaru challenged him. "Oh yeah? Then how come you lost to me in the jounin exams, or the last time we fought?" Jiraiya listed off.

"Those were mere flukes! Bah, screw this, I'll kill you right now" the snake sannin declared, bringing out the Sword of Kusanagi from his mouth.

"This, teme is the next step to the Rasengan. I've been working with my godson on it over the past month. He calls it the Rasenshuriken. And it will be the end of you" Jiraiya informed him as they faced off.

"Have they always been like this?" the Shodaime asked."Oh, this is nothing. Back when they were genin they were constantly at each other's throats. They loved each other like brothers though" Sarutobi remembered wistfully.

"It makes sense in a way. Only someone you've loved more than your life can be hated enough to take theirs" Hashirama spoke, looking at his brother strangely. "Brother" Tobirama warned him, though Hiruzen could sense a bit of sadness in his tone. He shifted his attention to the matter at hand, shaking it off as nothing major **(AN: What could Tobirama be hiding?)**.

"Face it Oro, you never had my stamina. After I came back from Mount Myoboku, you were never able to best be in battle, or with the ladies" Jiraiya winked at his former teammate who grew further infuriated. "So, in the interest of fairness, let's make this a one-shot battle, Hit with your best shot okay, because I won't be holding back this time" Jiraiya teased him. Orochimaru growled before coating his sword with poison. The former teammates eyed each other tensely. Then, Orochimaru made the first move, rushing forward. Jiraiya did the same as well, and threw a kunai at Orochimaru, who waited for it to come close and dodged it at the last moment. When he looked back up, he froze in horror. Instead of Jiraiya coming at him, he saw the kunai flying away. _'He substituted himself with the kunai'_ Orochimaru realised as Jiraiya appeared behind him and struck him in the small of his back. Orochimaru let out a blood-curdling scream as he dropped to the ground, the pain too much to even stay on his feet.

Orochimaru gasped "What did you do to me?" as he registered the unbearable pain spread throughout his body. "The Rasenshuriken, Orochimaru" Jiraiya grinned smugly, "inflicts damage at the cellular level, which then proliferates throughout the entire body. Even Tsunade would be hard-pressed to heal it. My my, the genius of the Sannin, Orochimaru-sama, killed by a mere substitution jutsu" Jiraiya mocked at his fading figure. "Don't compare myself to you! I'm ten times the shinobi you will ever be. And mark my words Jiraiya. One day I'll kill you and feed your head to Manda, even if it's the last thing I do" Orochimaru vowed, as his vision grew increasingly blurry.

Jiraiya corrected him "And that is where you've always been wrong, Oro. A shinobi is not determined by the number of jutsus he learns. No. A shinobi is one who endures; endures everything that is thrown at him, and still does not give up. That is the true meaning of a shinobi" as he saw the light leave Orochimaru's eyes and his figure wither away from existence. "Farewell brother, you will never be forgotten" Jiraiya bent and touched the spot where his best friend died, uttering a silent prayer for him.

Jiraiya turned around to see the Hokages gazes serenely as the sun set over Konoha, the last vestiges of the invasion dying out. "It's good to be back" Hashirama mused.


	4. Chapter 4-Trickery of the Sand

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

 _The Council_

The council was in uproar. Since the shinobi side were informed of the invasion only at the last minute, they were unable to comprehend the magnitude of Suna's treachery. Tricked by Orochimaru or not, they had broken the trust and treaty they themselves had requested at the end of the Third Shinobi War. Konoha, being under the reign of the kind-hearted Yondaime had agreed to it without any special demands or clauses. And now, as Konoha had Suna by the balls, there was disagreement on how to proceed.

"Kill the spawn of their Kage! It'll send them a strong message to never betray us again!" one of the Hyuga elders hollered.

"And what good would that do?" Shikaku Nara drawled lazily, roused out of his sleep by the constant arguing; "It would be better to keep them hostage rather than kill them. Their jinchurikki could prove to be an asset for us, as would the other two" Shikaku yawned before going back to sleep. Since there was no argument over this, Sarutobi called a vote "all the clan heads in favour of keeping the children of the Yondaime Kazekage as hostage, raise your hand". Nearly all the clan heads raised their hands, bar Hyuga Hiashi, who replied with an almost inaudible "Hn", believing such common and petty gestures below his status as a Hyuga. Next to him, Inuzuka Tsume rolled her eyes _'Man, these Hyugas have a ten-foot pole up their ass. He gives even good old Fugaku a run for his money with his arrogance'_.

One particular pink-haired banshee from the civilian side chose this moment to interrupt, which had thus far been left out of the discussions, "Wait a minute Sandaime-sama!" she screeched. Sarutobi winced as her voice reached his ageing ears, _'I'd take Tobirama-sensei's killing intent any day over this banshee's voice'_. He sighed "Yes, what is it Councillor Haruno?".

"Sandaime-sama?! You cannot just decide what to do without our consent! We must also vote! And we, the civilian council, vote for the brats to be hanged!" Sarutobi could've sworn her eyes had a greedy glint. He saw the Hyuga elders smirk victoriously, and pieced it together. The Hyuga elders had paid the civilian council to do their bidding. Ever since the Uchiha massacre, Sarutobi had delegated the task of execution to the Hyugas, since they were the strongest at the time, and as their Byakugan was well-suited to such a task. The Hyugas had since racked up a reputation as masters of execution, and now accepted executions from private, outside parties, irrespective of their background. To think such a noble clan would stoop so low for slightly larger coffers. Sarutobi shook his head at them. "Throw in the kyubi brat with them too!" councilwoman Haruno shrieked, encouraging another round of fierce agreements from the civilian end.

The Shodaime entered the chamber alongside his brother and asked, "So you tell me councilwoman Haruno, that you would have a Konoha shinobi executed for something out of their control? The same Konoha shinobi who ended up doing most of the damage to the enemy and saving Konoha. You tell me this, councilwoman Haruno?"

"O-of co-course not Shodaime-sama" Mebuki Haruno blabbered, too scared to say anything else. Hashirama sighed, staring at her, disappointment embedded deeply within his features. "Where we wrong, brother? Were we too naive? To think that shinobi and civilian alike could get along, regardless of their background? I see the Konoha before me today, and it is not the Konoha we had dreamed of". The councillors stirred in their seats, guilt wracking up within them at the Shodaime's honest words. "When I agreed to the creation of Konoha shinobi being sacrificed as jinchuuriki, I did in the hopes that people would look at them as heroes, who held their village above their own life" Hashirama professed, "my own wife, Mito was respected in that regard. Though now I believe it was more due to her being the wife of the Hokage.

"Danzo, is that you?!" Tobirama questioned sharply. Danzo replied very slowly, with deliberation "Hai Tobirama sensei - it is I, Danzo" the cripple spoke, viewing his former sensei with apprehension, nervousness rising within him. The Nidaime asked "What happened to your eye and arm?"; and it was becoming clear to everyone that this was turning into more and more of an interrogation and less of a student-teacher reunion. The shinobi side grasped their concealed weapons, whilst the civilians gulped and squirmed under the growing tension in the chamber.

"I was injured during the Kyubi attack" Danzo was now speaking in a tone barely above a whisper, as he secretly tried to message his disguised Root ANBU to ready themselves for an escape, which was proving difficult with the slightest of movement by him under immense scrutiny by his former sensei. "Then why" Tobirama paused, glaring at Danzo with a barely contained fury, his voice now barely audible, though conveying an air of power that Danzo's did not, "do I sense a dozen Sharingan signatures emanating from you, all of them emitting the distinct ability of the more advanced Mangeykou Sharingan?"

Danzo's visible eye widened as a saucer. He knew his sensei was an unrivalled sensory ninja, yet Orochimaru had promised him it would be undetectable. He knew he was trapped, and there was only one way to escape. He knew it would be very difficult, yet he had no other choice; he was trapped. The three Hokages shifted their stance toward him, as did some of the shinobi who'd caught on to what was transpiring. Hashirama shifted into battle stance, and asked Danzo very carefully "And just where did you acquire those sharingan eyes from, Danzo-kun?". He looked to his side to his brother, who was crouched slightly, multiple three-pronged kunai in hand, and nodded at him.

"For the Leaf!" Danzo announced before an explosion rocked the chamber and purple fumes appearing in his stead. Instantaneously, Tobirama threw the kunai into the smoke, disappearing in a flash as multiple sounds of metal clashing were heard from the smoke. Hashirama sent a wood branch into the smoke, careful to avoid his brother whose movements he determined through the sounds. The branch struck an object in the leg and wrapped around it, and Hashirama relaxed; knowing his brother would take care of the rest. A moment later, as the smoke dissipated, and the noises stopped, Tobirama stood tall over Danzo and his Root ANBU. Danzo lay bound by the wood, which the Shodaime had extended straight out of his hand. The Root ANBU who had moved in lay tied together on the floor, all marked with anti-shunshin seals.

The entire council, minus the Sandaime watched in awe. Shinobi and civilian alike were mesmerised by the battle prowess of the legendary Senju brothers. Some of the elder shinobi who had fought in the Third Shinobi War were left open-mouthed to once again see the devastating effects of the Flying Thunder God jutsu, as they saw a shinobi said to rival the Sandaime Hokage decimated along with other high-ranking ninjas in mere seconds.

"You knew" Danzo realised, stoic as ever. Tobirama confirmed his suspicion "It was through your Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. You should know that juinjutsu requires some chakra to be applied by the caster to be activated. I had originally sensed it after the invasion on a shinobi next to you. I didn't think much of it, until Saru filled me in about your supposedly disbanded private section of ANBU called Root. That's when I broadened my scope. I found many shinobi having a similar chakra as yours. I would've been fine to let you go had Saru and Jiraiya of the Sannin not informed me about all your shady dealings" besides Tobirama, Jiraiya materialised out of nowhere, grinning like a dog who'd gotten his favourite bone at the subdued elder. "How and when?" Danzo questioned curtly.

"My my, old man. Might I remind you, you're the one under interrogation here. Nevertheless, I'll get to the point" Jiraiya straightened up, dropping all his antics. "A certain spy of mine found one of your spies sneaking around near one of his secret hideouts. He immediately reported to me the man's details, which included the custom Root headband. Alongside your frequent disappearances, it wasn't too difficult to add two with two. Another of my spies, whilst fleeing the village, managed to stumble upon and use one of the Root tunnels to facilitate his escape. Tunnels which should have been destroyed after the eradication of Root. Alongside your frequent disappearances, it was easy to add two with two; Root is still alive and kicking, not for long though" Jiraiya spoke. "Oh, and by the way, I'm sure you'd love to know the names of those two spies of mine who uncovered your secret. I'm sure you'll know who they are. I just like to refer to them as Fox and Crow" Jiraiya talked brightly, smiling like a little girl that'd gotten her favourite piece of candy.

 _'Uzumaki! Itachi!'_ Danzo realised in horror as the wood around him tightened, making him wince. Seeing this, Jiraiya mocked him "Now now, what shall we do with you. What do you say Hokages, should we let poor Danzo-kun go?".

It was the Nidaime who sealed Danzo's fate- "Public beheading" he announced, "in a week's time, Danzo Shimura will be publicly beheaded by the hand of I, Senju Tobirama. Till then, throw him into the dungeons along with his subordinates and extract whatever information you can. Don't forget to lace their cells with chakra leachers" he told his successor, who nodded to the ANBU present there who took them away to the T&I department..

Jiraiya looked at his teacher, "Sarutobi sensei,shouldn't the civilian council leave? They've already heard a state secret too many as it is". Jiraiya was worried about his spy network's proficiency now that it was out in the open, and that too a bunch of individuals notorious for being blabbermouths. He'd not been too keen on telling the civilian council about his spy network, but had been reassured by the Nidaime that he wouldn't have to worry. Still, in this business, Jiraiya knew it was best not to take any chances.

Let them be" Tobirama ordered. Jiraiya was surprised at this. Out of everyone, Senju Tobirama was the last person he'd expect to be lax about national secrets. The man was the most vigilant shinobi in Konoha's history. Just as he was about to reply Tobirama showed him a hand to wait. He turned directly to face Jiraiya "Hear me out, Sannin. I know your concerned about your spy network's functioning now that it's existence is out in the open. I'd expect nothing else. I myself was Konoha's spymaster during my brother's reign. That is not of concern. We can put a simple genjutsu over them. They are not ninja and do not know anything about chakra. The reason I'm telling you to wait is because I have to right a wrong I should never have committed". At the confused look on everyone's faces, Tobirama looked at the civilian council "Them". The civilian council was shocked to know this. Before any protests could break out Tobirama spoke out "do you know, why I made the civilian council? To assist the shinobi council during wartime. Last I checked, Konoha has not been at war for over fifteen years. Their mere existence is therefore invalidated. The only reason they even exist is due to political mongering and bribing some of the more tasteless members of the shinobi council. Some of the shinobi may ask themselves as to how this happened. Allow me to explain. I will not blame Saru for he had his hands tied before his back after the Kyubi's attack and the Uchiha massacre. It made sense to delegate some of the less important tasks to the civilians. Slowly, the civilians began to procure more and more important tasks, through a mixture of bribes and greedy shinobi" Tobirama glared at Koharu and Homura, reinforcing it with his killing intent, virtually pinning his two other former genin to the wall, "until finally, they struck gold-the Shinobi Academy. the most important stage of a ninja's career, when they are young and still fresh-in the hands of people who didn't have even the slightest inkling of what being a shinobi means. From there, the civilian council became even more and more corrupt. Tell me, is this what happened" the Nidaime demanded, giving the civilian side the death eyes.

"E-exactly" Mebuki Haruno managed to stutter out, experiencing a level of fear she'd never knew even existed before. "Exactly as I thought" Tobirama grinned smugly, before going through a complex set of handseals and shouting "Infinite Illusion: Memory Seal" as a strange black seal briefly appeared on the heads of the civilian council before disappearing.

One of the Hyuga elders cried out "Nidaime-sama, you cannot do this!". "You're right. I can't. However" Tobirama smirked "we can" he gestured to his brother and student. As stated in the rule book, any Konoha organisation can be disbanded should the existing kage at that time and any former kage see fit to do so. And we three, the Shodaime, Nidaime and Sandaime see fit to do so! Civilian council, I Senju Tobirama; Nidaime Hokage of Konohakagure no Sato hereby disband you!". The civilian council, who were still dazed from the effects of the seal, could not do much except nod like dumb mules, and were evacuated swiftly by the ANBU.

Sarutobi clasped his hands "Now, let's move onto more pressing matters. I would like to make an announcement. Given my advanced years, it is becoming more and more difficult for me to fulfil my duties as Hokage. I hereby give, what will be my second, and hopefully permanent resignation this time. I have a successor in mind. You see, like any other jounin teacher, I'd always wanted my one of my genin to become Hokage. My original choice was Orochimaru. After I came to know of his inappropriate actions and attitude, I pinned my hopes on Jiraiya". Seeing the look on Jiraiya's face he added "who I also know has always rejected the offer as it would interfere with his 'research' time" Jiraiya laughed perversely at this, as blood trickled down his nose, "however, I still have another student. Yes, Tsunade will be the Godaime Hokage!"

Hyuga Hiashi replied stoically "Sandaime-sama, Tsunade-sama left Konoha years ago. We have no information on her whereabouts".

"Correction, you have no information on her whereabouts" Jiraiya informed him. "I've been using my spy network to keep tabs on her since she left the village, and she's been seen around Tanzaku Gai recently.

"If memory serves correct, that would be a gambling hamlet, would it not?" Tobirama questioned. "Indeed" Jiraiya confirmed.

"Hashirama spoke up "Hang on. Why did Tsuna leave the village in the first place? What happened?", wanting to see his granddaughter as soon as possible. "Hashirama-sama, if you would allow it, I'd like to tell you in personal. Her's is a story I do not like to speak about" Sarutobi sighed wistfully. Jiraiya looked sadly to the ground, it had been years since he'd seen her and he still deeply missed her.

"Its's settled then. I, Hiruzen Sarutobi-Sandaime Hokage of Konohakagure hereby issue a S-ranked mission for the retrieval of the Godaime Hokage-Tsunade Senju!"

"ME!" Hashirama and Jiraiya shouted out simultaneously. Hashirama rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, whilst the rest of the council sweat-dropped at the antics of the 'God of Shinobi'. Jiraiya on the other hand had got gone very red behind the ears. Tobirama saw this and narrowed his eyes at him, sensing there was something between those two he wasn't being told. In the few days he'd been back, he had heard of the infamous reputation the Toad Sage had racked up as a pervert beyond equal. Sarutobi saw this and smiled-Jiraiya clearly had feelings for Tsunade even after all these years.

"Shodaime-sama, I believe I should go" Jiraiya requested.

Sarutobi grinned, "And pray tell, why do you think so Jiraiya-kun?".

"Well, it does make sense" Tobirama interjected. Hiruzen and Jiraiya looked in surprise at him. "Well, they were in the same genin cell. They've known each other for a long time. Plus, it's been a long time since my brother has been out of the village gates. A lot has changed since then. He'd probably get lost in a gambling brothel himself" Tobirama looked at his elder brother, who seemed to be salivating at the thought of it, and rolled his eyes at him. "And since you refuse to speak about what's happened to her, I suspect something tragic has occurred with her, something my brother and I are not aware of-so thus, it would be better for someone who does know her to got retrieve her". Sarutobi nodded at him, he was indeed correct. Out of everyone here, Jiraiya was the one who knew her best. "It is decided then. Jiraiya will move out in two days time, by which point he should be prepared enough to retrieve Tsunade" Sarutobi announced.

"Sarutobi-sensei, can I take my godson alongside me? I believe he will be the key to persuading her" Jiraiya requested. Sarutobi nodded and Jiraiya left the chamber to prepare for his mission. "I now proclaim this council meeting to be over. Dismissed!" Sarutobi dumped himself onto his chair as the council members let themselves out.

Tobirama spoke first "Saru, would it be wise for our jinchurikki to be outside the village walls?". "Don't worry sensei. Naruto is exceptionally strong and with Jiraiya watching over him not even a madman would attack. And Itachi is keeping me and Jiraiya posted on the Akatsuki's movements-none of them are anywhere near Tsunade. They'll be safe" Sarutobi assured him."

Hashirama voiced his concerns "And what of this Itachi you speak of? From what I've heard, he seems to be ten times the shinobi I ever was. But isn't his disguise compromised now? The civilians of this era aren't exactly trustworthy"

"Not really, Hashirama-sama. They won't have gotten the chance to spill the beans to anyone else since the invasion. Although no fatalities occurred, a lot of damage was inflicted onto the infrastructure of the village. I've had the genins team up with the civilians to keep them busy repairing the damages, though we will have to find a more long-term solution. Itachi is one of our most important spies. I cannot allow his position to be compromised" Hiruzen sighed, facing a major dilemma.

"You should've thought of that before you allowed the boy to reveal national secrets!" Tobirama snapped. "Fuinjutsu" Hashirama uttered, realisation dawning on his face, "What?" Tobirama asked, completely thrown off course by his brother's wayward response. "Saru, you said something about a Cursed Eradication Seal used by Danzo to stop Root secrets leaking out. Brother, maybe you could do something similar, just make it less obvious, and voila!" Hashirama cheered.

Tobirama scoffed at him "Don't be a fool. Around a thousand people were there. It would take months just to make the seals, much less implement them". "Not if you make shadow clones. You can make around fifty of them, a hundred if you really stretch yourself. Add to that your extreme seal-making speed, it could happen within a day!" Hashirama was completely ecstatic now, literally jumping on his toes. "Actually, that might just work" Hiruzen began warming up to the idea, "you can get Jiraiya to help as well. Though you'll have to get him before he leaves, otherwise there's no telling how long he'll take to return" Hiruzen advised him.

"Exactly" Hashirama nodded along, "you said it yourself brother. Civilians can't use or detect chakra. Both of you can send clones even in the light of day and do your work undetected".

Tobirama raised an eyebrow at his brother "And people used to say I was the wicked Senju brother", who simply shrugged "like you used to say, nothing before the Leaf".

Sarutobi rummaged through a stack of papers "Out the thousand members in the audience, exactly half were ninja or from ninja families. At most 500 were civilians, who are our major concern. I'll show you the list of civilians who journeyed to the stadium. Here" he finished his search, procuring a big bunch of papers, filled with the names and addresses of the civilians who were present in the stadium the day of the invasion.

"Tobirama sighed "Looks like I'll have to call the Sannin after all".

"Race you!" Hashirama challenged.

"Don't compare an idiot like yourself with me!" Tobirama rebuffed him, before running rapidly followed by his brother. _'What am I going to do with these two?'_ Sarutobi groaned, feeling even more older than usual.

 _Sunagakure_

"Konoha has us by the throat, there's nothing we can do" one of the village elders sighed.

"One of the younger councillors cried out "They have our jinchurikki!".

"Silence!" an old yet powerful feminine voice rang out across the room. The feminine voice revealed itself to be Lady Chiyo. "Chiyo-baasama, you're back!" the same councillor cried out again. Chiyo reprimanded him "Silence brat! You're a member of the Sunakagure council. Maintain your decorum and act like one" she spoke sharply. The young councillor turned red, feeling embarrassed.

"Chiyo-sama, not that your presence is unwelcome, but why are you here? I thought you were retired?" Baki questioned, who was acting as interim Kazekage until a more permanent option was chosen. "I still am, brat! However, seeing as the village has gotten itself into such a mess, I've seen fit to temporarily come out of my retirement, as has my brother Ebizo who will be joining us shortly. Now, the first course of action should be to get the Sand Trio back. We are dangerously weakened and Iwa's troops have been sniffing around the border".

Baki replied "What would you have us do then, Chiyo-sama? We've already surrendered unconditionally and offered support. Negotiations have begun, and even then Konoha has informed us that the Yondaime's children will only be returned after the conclusion of the negotiations".

"Simple" Ebizo spoke, entering the room, "we make them an offer they can't refuse".

"The Marriage Contract!" Baki realised. "You want to marry one of our shinobi with theirs. No, I will not allow it. I have responsibility for all Suna citizens, each and every one of them. I will not allow them to be traded like a sack of groceries" Baki outright rejected them, not wanting to reject to such archaic and underhanded measures. "Baki-sama, perhaps you should hear them out" one of the elders advised. Baki refused "No, I will not give my blessing to such a crooked act. It goes against my honour!".

"Shinobi have no honour. Shinobi do not let their feelings interfere with their mission. Shinobi sacrifice themselves for the good of their nation. As our leader, this is something you must realise!" Chiyo retorted, effectively shutting him up. After a tense silence, Baki growled "Fine. We'll put it to the vote. Everyone on board with Chiyo-sama and Ebizo-sama's proposal, raise your hand". To Baki's dread, more than half the council raised their hand, meaning he was overruled. Sighing, he questioned Lady Chiyo "Fine, just who do have in mind?".

"Temari" Chiyo simply replied. Seeing the look of horror on Baki's face, she smirked "why not? She's one of our strongest kunoichi and it would make Konoha trust us even more" she explained.

"That's exactly why!" Baki yelled, outraged; "We need all the strength we have, not marry it off to other shinobi nations!"

"Hear us out" Ebizo requested, "we won't send her simply send over to them; we'll add some clauses in the contract. Any children she will have with one of their shinobi will have to act as liaison between the two villages, Temari herself will be allowed annual visits to Suna along with her children and spouse, and the most important factor is that they will act as a deterrent for the outbreak of war between the two villages. Surely you would have realised that Konoha is the strongest village. Even the Shodaime and Nidaime are back; two shinobi so powerful you couldn't even begin to imagine their strength. On top of that, Jiraiya of the Sannin is back as well. This alliance will ensure the future of our village" Ebizo declared, and some of the council heads started turning, finding the proposed alliance not so absurd now.

"No, not her!" Baki firmly objected.

"Listen to me you insolent brat!" Lady Chiyo demanded.

"Lady Chiyo" Baki's voice now contained a dangerous edge to it, "might I remind you that you are still retired and not an official shinobi of Sunagakure. It is only my immense respect for you and your brother that keeps you here. However, I will not allow you to disrespect me or one of my students who also happens to be the sole daughter of our former Kazekage by bartering her off like a common mule". Chiyo understood his veiled threat and ignored it. "As a shinobi of Sunagakure, she has no choice but to do her duty to her village and her Kage as effectively as she can. Right now, the most effective way for her to do so is to join Konoha". This got the council agreeing. Soon, the entire council was nodding in favour of her plan.

"Fine then" Baki ceded bitterly, "who do you have in mind to marry her off to?" Baki questioned, seeing no other viable alternative. "It makes sense to marry the daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage to the son of the Yondaime Hokage, does it not?" Chiyo questioned him wryly.

The manner in which she spoke made Baki suspicious. "You already knew about Uzumaki Naruto's lineage, didn't you Chiyo-sama? And yet you did not deem it important enough to inform the council".

"I've had my suspicions" Chiyo admitted. "However, it was never anything concrete, and I never had any evidence, so it would've been pointless. Besides, as you pointed out, I'm no longer an official shinobi of Sunagakure; hence I have no obligation to leak national secrets of other villages" Chiyo tauntingly told him. He scowled and was about to retort when she cut in-"Nevertheless, I would choose Uzumaki Naruto. His and Temari's offspring would be powerful shinobi and a strong deterrent against any hostility between our villages".

Baki protested "You intend to use her as a jinchurikki, yet she is only a human!", still unwilling to relent. "

Come now, don't tell me that after all this time you've come to love her" Lady Chiyo asked him teasingly.

"I've always loved her! She's like the daughter I never had. All three of them. But what about you? You always knew this would happen one day. You always planned for this to happen! You've been raising her like a pig for slaughter!" Baki raged, furious by the elder's casual and blatantly indifferent attitude.

"Oh no, Baki-kun. You've been raising her like a pig for slaughter" Lady Chiyo mocked him.

Before he could retaliate, Ebizo intervened, "Hear us out. Not only is his heritage fitting, so is his prowess as a ninja. We're talking about a thirteen year old who held his own against Orochimaru. Someone who became an ANBU lieutenant at the age of 11. Even the notorious Itachi Uchiha himself became an ANBU Lieutenant at the age of 12. And he's currently listed as a S-rank threat in every single Bingo Book. Even at such a young age, Uzumaki too is listed in the Bingo Books of all the Major Ninja Villages; as 'The Fox', listed as an A-rank threat. Surely any spawn of his would be extremely powerful. We nominate Uzumaki Naruto, son of Minato Namikaze. And as if that weren't enough, he holds a summoning contract with the toads. Only one other person holds a summoning contract with them-Jiraiya. Which means he is his apprentice. Barely a teenager and already apprenticed to one of the Sannin. As such he is the obvious choice" Ebizo finished explaining. There were murmurs of agreement across the room, and Baki had no option but to once again yield to the duo, "All right. Make the formal provisions for the Marriage Contract. However, insert a clause that has all three of them have to be returned to us immediately so that we can inform them of the situation ourselves.

 _In Konoha_

Naruto was busy eating ramen at Ichiraku's when Jiraiya interrupted him; "Oi Naruto, want to go on a quest".

Naruto asked back "What's it for?".

"Well, it's a very important mission to bring the new Hokage back" Jiraiya informed him. Naruto lowered his eyebrows "I thought the old man would make you the new Hokage?".

"Bah, who wants that boring, stuffy job? Besides, it would mean less time time for research" Jiraiya giggled profusely at the end of his statement, allowing his mind to wander to very particular parts of the female anatomy... "Pervert" Naruto interrupted him, finishing his ramen in one slurp and standing up. He nodded to Jiraiya and they were about to move out until a very commanding voice stopped them in their tracks. "You can't leave just yet" it was the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Instantly, everyone's heads shot up at this, awed to see one of their former Hokage in the flesh. They all bowed in reverence to him, and he nodded.

Jiraiya questioned him "What happened, Nidaime-sama? Why can't we leave just yet?".

"I require your assistance" the Nidaime replied, not divulging any further information due to the public setting of their conversation. "Follow me this way, please" he requested them, although Naruto had the distinct feeling it wasn't a request as much as it was an order.

Just when they were about to move, they were stopped again by a Senju. This time, it was the elder Senju brother-Hashirama Senju, the Shodaime Hokage. He doubled over onto the ground in front of them, clutching his lungs in pain and panting like a mad dog. Hashirama moaned, gasping for oxygen "To-Tobirama, you cheater! You used your Flying Thunder God Jutsu!". All the people present sweat dropped at the childish antics of their beloved Shodaime Hokage. "You" Hashirama was interrupted by Tobirama clearing his throat, at which point he looked around and saw everyone staring at him bizarrely. His cheeks turned pink as he dusted himself and stood up. The civilians were rather dubious as to how this man was the 'God of Shinobi'. But Naruto wasn't fooled by it-he'd spent his entire life wearing the same mask. He'd seen the Shodaime's business face, and he never wanted to see it again. He shivered as he recollected the event:

 _Flashback-3 days ago_

 _Naruto rolled over onto his back, the sunlight trickling in through the curtain. He groaned as his eyes eyes adjusted to the light. After he'd dealt with the snake summons, he'd met Kabuto trying to slither his way out of Konoha, and he had engaged him in battle. Naruto had a tough time against him. Plus the fact that he'd used a lot of his chakra and the chakra he'd brought in scrolls in summoning the toads and spamming clones every few seconds didn't help his case. Kabuto on the other hand was well rested from his time in the dungeons, where he hadn't been tortured yet due to time restraints._

 _Kabuto smirked "Well well, we meet again Naruto-kun". Naruto rolled his eyes at him and shifted into battle stance. "Face it Naruto-kun. You will never be as strong as me; in fact you'll never even be as strong as Sasuke-kun. Just go and I'll spare you" he promised._

 _"See, that's where you're wrong" Naruto replied, going through handseals, " I'm already stronger than him. Fūton_ _: Daitoppa!" a large gust of wind flew in Kabuto's direction who barely dodged it, parts of his hair being singed off as a result. He growled and performed handseals himself "Doton: Rock Gun Technique". Naruto countered it with "Katon: Karyu Endan" and used the precious time afforded the smoke to formulate a plan. Grinning, he restocked his chakra supply with his seals, his prior near chakra depletion state forcing him to use them all up._

 _Once the smoke dissipated Naruto unsheathed his sword and moved to strike Kabuto, who repeatedly dodged his strikes and was forced to back away from the walls, into the thick of the fighting. Seeing Kabuto busy with blocking his strikes, he discreetly formed two shadow clones, who positioned themselves underneath the ground. He leaned down and struck at Kabuto's ankles, who jumped out in the air evade the strike. Naruto's clones emerged out of the ground and caught Kabuto's ankles. Naruto grinned, only for Kabuto to poof into smoke. 'Shadow Clone' he realised, alarmed. He ducked at the last minute as a kunai flew at him and skimmed his hair as he flattened himself to the ground. Upon getting up, he saw Kabuto perched upon a tree, going through hand seals at an alarming rate. "Doton: Deiheki" a huge mud wall erupted at the place where Naruto was standing, who barely escaped due to his battle-hardened senses and instincts. "Ooh, so little Naruto-kun knows how to dance" Kabuto cooed as they engaged in a vicious bout of taijutsu. When they disengaged, Naruto had a broken elbow and Kabuto sported a bloodied nose._

 _Naruto threw a kunai at him, who substituted away. Sensing he would attack from behind, he turned and blocked Kabuto's kick with his other elbow, forcing him to contort himself to avoid Naruto's own kick at his ankle. Tricked into dodging, Kabuto was caught unaware as Naruto smashed his broken elbow into his nose, sending him flying ten feet back. Naruto howled as he clutched his damaged elbow, while Kabuto cried out as he assessed his nose. Somehow standing up, he said "Well done Naruto-kun. However, I must leave now. Mark my words, the next time I see you, I will have Orochimaru-sama with me". Kabuto shun-shined away and Naruto collapsed onto the floor, nursing his left elbow, slowly drifting into_ _unconsciousness._

 _As Naruto sat up, he heard a masculine voice "So, Sleeping Beauty's finally up. I was thinking we'd have to bring in precious 'Sasuke-kun' to kiss you so you'd wake up". Naruto groaned, it was Jiraiya. "Shut up Ero-sennin" Naruto groaned as he got up and squinted against the sunlight, yawning loudly. "How many days have I been out for...?" Naruto's question stopped in his throat, as he saw what was front of him. The legendary first two Hokages were standing a mere ten feet away from him, staring at him with mild concern. From the corner, Sarutobi chuckled, 'It really is them Naruto-kun". Naruto blinked his eyes, thinking it was just a trick of the light or that Kurama was messing with his senses again. He moved towards them, tentatively reaching out his hand to brush his fingers against the Nidaime's cheek. Instantly, he was poked hard on the forehead and sent flying onto the wall opposite. The Shodaime burst out and started laughing his gut out, whilst Sarutobi rushed to check on his surrogate grandson. "Tobirama-sensei, you shouldn't have done that' Sarutobi scolded his predecessor. "Don't tell that to me, tell that to that idiot over there' Tobirama replied; "I can understood being looked at with shock and surprise, but to be treated like a test subject in an experiment is something I will not tolerate" Tobirama spoke harshly. Jiraiya snorted at this as he saw Naruto unsteadily get to his feet, clutching his head in pain. "You sent me flying fifteen feet back with a mere finger poke!" Naruto protested, outraged by his treatment and bewildered by such power. "Be glad he didn't hit you with his full power. He once struck me hard in the nuts. My balls were so swollen Mito and I couldn't have sex for a mon"_

 _"Hashirama!" his brother barked, stopping him from finishing the sentence._

 _Hashirama looked around him to see that Hiruzen and Jiraiya had a dreamy look on their face, blood trickling down their noses unabashedly. Naruto's cheeks had gone pink whilst Tobirama looked as stern as ever. 'Why am I the only non-pervert here? Even young Uzumaki seems affected' Tobirama sighed as his brother rubbed his head and laughed embarrassingly. The Nidaime faced Naruto "We have come to test your powers, and the degree of control you possess over your Tailed Beast. My brother's Mokuton is able to suppress bijuu chakra, and my fuinjutsu is advanced enough to contain it". Naruto nodded, and got dressed as the others left the room. "Oh Naruto-kun" Sarutobi called out from the hallway, come directly to Training Ground 66. We'll be waiting for you". Naruto raised an eyebrow, 'The Hokage's personal training ground, this should be fun'._

 _Training Ground 66_

 _Naruto arrived to see the Shodaime meditating under a tree, on the opposite of which stood the Nidaime, leaning against it. Sarutobi smoked from his pipe, looking at him patiently. Jiraiya sat next to him, perversely giggling as he wrote the next chapter of his new book-Icha Icha: GangBang. He saw Kakashi materialise next to him, lazily twirling a kunai with his fingers, alongside a familiar figure whom he hadn't seen recently. "Ah, Tenzo senpai" Naruto greeted, going over to him, who smiled at him and gestured him to move onward._

 _"So, let's get started" Hashirama spoke excitedly. "Naruto-kun, I'd like you to try and release as much chakra of your beast as you can handle. Captain Yamato and myself will be on-hand to contain it". Naruto nodded, crunching his knuckles. 'Ready, fur-ball? I'm coning for you' Naruto mentally communicated to his tenant. Kurama snorted in reply 'Question **is, are you ready brat? Not even two days off from fighting a jounin-level and trying to control my chakra"**_

 _Naruto braced himself and started slowly releasing his chakra. Initially, there was a blue mist enveloping him, which eventually turned to red as his chakra depleted and Kurama's began. Naruto grimaced, feeling the first of the tails forming around him. He gritted his teeth and carried on. From the corner of his eye, he could see the Shodaime and Yamato forming elaborate structures of wood around him, whilst all the others watched with rapt attention as the third tail formed. Naruto's vision began to deteriorate as the fourth tail formed around him, his features turning more feral. He growled maliciously as the Kyubi's evil emotions took over him, crouching down into a battle stance. Immediately, the Shodaime went through hand seals, "Mokuton: Bijuu Binding Branch!" instantly, thick vines of wood enshrouded him, forcing the demonic chakra and negative emotions back, until Naruto barely stood, panting and his features no longer feral._

 _"I'd say meditation is the answer for this one" the Nidaime analysed. Jiraiya nodded "I've been telling the brat to start his senjutsu training since ages but he just won't listen to me"._

 _Hashirama consoled him "Your control over your bijuu is commendable, Naruto-kun. But meditation would go a long way to help you negate the malicious feelings that rise within you from using the chakra". Naruto nodded reluctantly, before shifting the topic. "Shodaime-sama, up in the Kage Box, how where you able to overcome Orochimaru's reanimation jutsu? I thought it was impossible"._

 _"It is impossible" the Shodaime agreed, "except for one person-the inventor" he gestured to his brother, "you'll have to ask him how he did it though, he's the fuinjutsu expert" Naruto nodded and turned back, only to turn around to ask another question, "Oh, and how did you break the barrier? I mean, I felt this unbelievable chakra surge from inside it, and well, it felt very much like a bijuu's" Naruto asked._

 _"The source of that 'unbelievable chakra surge', as you said it, would be me" Tobirama replied, looking straight at Naruto. Naruto was about to retort otherwise, but then saw who he was standing in front of. The Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, said to be the greatest Suiton user ever, and unmatched during his time as Hokage. So if he said something, he most likely meant it. "Here, I'll show you" the elder Senju offered, before stretching his limbs and flaring his chakra. Immediately the entire landscape was altered. Trees were ripped out of their roots and flung away. Naruto was blown away by the sheer force of the chakra. 'This chakra, it's even bigger than the Nidaime's'' Naruto thought in awe as he turned his gaze to the others, who weren't faring much better. Kakashi and Yamato too had been flung off their feet, and the Sandaime and Jiraiya were on their knees, gritting. The only unaffected person was the Nidaime, no doubt used to this due to growing up sparring with his brother._

 _Naruto took one look at the Shodaime's face, and found no trace of the goofy idiot who'd not long ago been too willing too share details of his sex life with a thirteen year old. No, this was something entirely else. What he saw was a true shinobi. With his eyes closed and his features deathly calm, he seemed an ethereal warrior, deadly yet graceful, lethal yet peaceful. This was the battle face of the Shodaime Hokage-Hashirama Senju. This was the God of Shinobi feared across the world. This was the man who'd led the Senju into battle against the Uchiha; this was the man who'd bested Madara Uchiha in battle._

 _Naruto screamed "Shodaime-sama!" breaking the man out of his peaceful stupor. Hashirama looked around himself, and immediately stopped flaring his chakra. The entire landscape was devastated due to his actions. He laughed embarrassingly, "Oops, my bad. I'll fix it in a quick" he formed hand seals, and trees began to grow around them, allowing the once luscious forest to regain it's natural beauty. Naruto's eyeballs nearly fell into his eyes when he saw it. 'I used to think it was just a pale imitation, not real life he was capable of creating. No wonder the Mokuton is so coveted'._

 _Hashirama urged Naruto to try again, and he nodded. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kakashi, the Sandaime and Jiraiya all leaning over what appeared to be the new Icha Icha book, whilst the Nidaime was looking at them with eyes full of rage. "Come on, Naruto-kun" the Shodaime's voice forced his attention back to him and Yamato, who were busy forming hand seals, "just fifty more repetitions". Naruto swore he saw the slightest of smirks grace the Shodaime's features and vanish just as quickly. He groaned "This is so troublesome"._

 _ **"Don't tell me the Nara boy's beginning to grow on you brat"** his tenant mocked. _

_"Shut up you lousy fox" he replied through gritted teeth, and he heard a distinct fox-like chuckle in his head._

 _Flashback End_

Naruto was aroused from his reminiscing by the retreating figures of his godfather and the Nidaime. He looked at Hashirama questioningly. "What, don't tell me you weren't paying attention to what my brother was saying" Hashirama seemed to have figured out his question from the look on Naruto's face. He was much smarter than he seemed. "Oh anyways, doesn't matter" Hashirama chimed, "let's try controlling your powers again" he suggested, "if only I can find Captain Yamato" he trailed off, lost in his own mutterings. Naruto groaned "Man, this is so" **'troublesome?"** his tenant finished for him. **"That's twice in a week, now"** Kurama jibed. Naruto growled at him, only to be met with another round of laughter...

 _Yamanaka Residence_

There was quite the gathering ongoing at the Yamanaka residence. There had finally been a slight reprieve from the the rebuilding effort and Ino had invited her teammates, academy classmates and Team 9 for a much-anticipated discussion on one very particular individual-Uzumaki Naruto. "We should apologise to him" Ino suggested, "Some of us" she glanced at Sakura and Sasuke, "haven't exactly treated him nicely. And I know most of the time it was just a clone, but still; what we did is unacceptable. We should go ask about his true history; his true self".

"While your thoughts are commendable Ino-san" Shino spoke from the corner of the room, almost camouflaged in the shadows, "an apology would be of little use. Naruto-san has made it clear he does not think much of us" he turned to look at Sasuke and Sakura as well, who shrunk a little into her seat and continued, "and as such, I do not think he would be willing to share anything, if much with us" he finished.

Hinata whispered "Na-Naruto-kun isn't like that. He is one of the bravest people I have ever seen and he has endured a lot of hardships. He is a very good person", her eyes brimming with unshed tears. I agree with Hinata-sama. Naruto-san opened my eyes to the suffering of other people, and in doing so saved me from a dark and dangerous path" Neji spoke softly

Tenten voiced the question that was everyone's lips "Though one should beg the question, how is Naruto so strong? From what we've seen, he's bordering mid to high Jounin level in every aspect of his ninja capabilities. And he's the same age as us!". Sasuke scowled at her statement, yet he knew it was the complete truth, and so turned around to sulk alone.

"But then why was he such an idiot at the academy?" Sakura asked softly, eyes prickling with tears as guilt spread across her. "It doesn't matter what he was like at the academy!" Shikamaru reprimanded them with a strong voice unlike him. They all turned to stare at him. "The Naruto we knew was a mere mask; a cunning effort to fool all of us. And it worked" he admitted, feeling deeply embarrassed that Naruto had managed to pull the wool over him. It wasn't everyday that one managed to outsmart a Nara and it was clear to everyone that it had deeply offended Shikamaru. "The higher ups obviously didn't want his truth to be public, and he hid his true self exceedingly well.

"Yosh! It is decided then! We will all go and apologise to Naruto-kun tomorrow. Naruto-kun is not evil! He is very kind-hearted and brave. Let us all use his example as a benchmark for ourselves. Naruto-kun is the strongest ninja in the world his age. We must all train hard to catch up to him!" Rock Lee declared earnestly, brimming with youth as always.

As everyone left, Sasuke sat their a few more moments, Sasuke sat a few more moments, contemplating the events of the last few days _'Indeed, he is strong. Too strong. I cannot let that happen. In the last few days the villagers have been treating me like any other commoner, and some have even downright expressed their disgust for me. This is all due to you, Uzumaki. And you too, Itachi. If it weren't for you, I'd still have a family. I'd still get the respect that is rightfully mine as an Uchiha, as an elite. Mark my words Uzumaki Naruto-I'm coming for you. And nee-san... you're next'_ he silently vowed.

 **AN: Sorry for the late delay guys, University is a pain in the ass. Hope y'all like the chapter. Adios!**


	5. Chapter 5-Democracy or Accountability?

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

Danzo Shimura hung upside down in the air, his limbs bound to chains and his body unclothed, stripping him of his dignity. He looked back to the last few days; after he'd been brought to the T&I chamber, he'd immediately been rendered naked, even his bandages not being spared. Inoichi Yamanaka had immediately been informed of the situation and dispatched to him. He'd penetrated the deepest, darkest corners of Danzo's mind, after which Ibiki Morino would take over and stick long, sharp objects into every crook of Danzo's body. That had been his schedule for the past few days, and he'd even been deprived of food; since shinobi have naturally higher endurance levels than civilians.

Now, after countless days of torture, he could feel the last vestiges of his chakra being stolen from him, and he gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to give his captors the pleasure of hearing his pain. In front of him stood Ibiki Morino, who was busy attending to his vast and gruesome stock of torture weapons. Danzo heard the door click open and was surprised to see who it was. Tobirama Senju strode to a nearby table, and shed himself of his haori, his Konoha headband and blue armour, leaving him in only his simple black clothing, looking uncharacteristically harmless. But Danzo knew better. It was a simple ploy before he was tortured even further. Tobirama moved over to where Ibiki stood, and shuffled through the torture rack, eventually settling on a butcher's knife and a mesh of barbed wire. he sat down at a nearby chair, facing Danzo pensively.

"Greetings, Tobirama-sensei" Danzo coughed out. Tobirama retorted icily "Do not call me that. You are not the Danzo I raised. You are but a spineless coward, a mere shadow of the man I created".

'I did what was best for the Leaf" Danzo replied monotonously. Tobirama stood up from his chair, and got right into the cripple's face, "Do not use my own teachings against me. You did what would elevate you to the position of Hokage! You took my teachings, and twisted them to suit to your own sick, despicable goals. The Danzo I knew would never have done this!".

"The Danzo you knew died a long time ago!" Danzo hit back, glaring into his former teacher's blood red eyes, not backing down. Danzo continued in a barely audible voice, "What's left is a bitter old man who has suffered and sacrificed almost everything he held dear for the sake of the village. You used to encourage everyone to have huge dreams and compete to become Hokage, but did you even once stop to think what happened to the ones who didn't become Hokage? The ones whose dreams where shattered, their hearts broken and their hopes unfulfilled? You overlooked them without a second thought. With their entire life's struggle and hard work rendered invalid, what else do they have left?" Danzo asked bitterly, a lifetime's worth of bitterness spilling out of him. Ever since Sarutobi had been chosen as Hokage over him, he'd done everything in his power, and more to ensure the future of his beloved village. He'd redirected all his rage and sorrow towards making Root the greatest espionage and counterintelligence agency in the Elemental Nations. And he'd succeeded; his Root was second to only Jiraiya's own spy agency, who for all his faults and perverseness was a hell of a spymaster. From his viewpoint, he'd spent his entire life protecting Konoha from the shadows, whilst Sarutobi presented everything as nice and peaceful on the surface. Between the two of them, Danzo brought the darkness and Sarutobi represented the light.

Tobirama's eyes glowed red with anger and contempt. He pressed the tip of his sword into Danzo's rib cage, making him wince in pain. "You say you sacrificed everything for the sake of the village" Tobirama came dangerously close to Danzo, completely invading his personal space, "maybe in your own eyes. You might sway a soft-hearted fool like my brother or Saru with your drama-but not me" Tobirama proceeded to wrap the barbed wire around Danzo's throat, and pulled on it harshly. The cripple coughed and spattered harshly as blood spilled down his mouth, staining the ground. "Your dream was to become Hokage you say? Dreams can be rebuilt, new purposes can be found; no, you did not dream of becoming Hokage. You were obsessed with becoming Hokage. More specifically, you were obsessed with beating Saru. Competition is fine, but there is a fine line; a line not to be crossed. You didn't just sacrifice your loved ones for your obsession, you sacrificed your very soul. You sold yourself to the Shinigami itself and became the monster you are today!".

"Better to become a monster than a weak, peace-loving impotent coward" Danzo wheezed, still too stubborn to forego his radical ideology. Tobirama surprisingly agreed with him "You're not entirely wrong. Saru's done too good of a job at protecting the new generation. They know nothing about the horrors of war or what being a shinobi means. They almost take it as if it were a joke. But enough about Saru. We're here for you. I see Inoichi Yamanaka has a done a fine job of extracting information out of you. I, however am here to extract the information you haven't shown him" Tobirama wordlessly formed a shadow clone. "Do you know" Tobirama asked his former protege, forming a miniature hurricane on his right hand, which Danzo recognised as _'Foton: WhirlWind'_ , "why exactly I created the Kage Bunshin? It wasn't for spying or intel gathering" Tobirama's right hand was now manoeuvred dangerously close to Danzo's temple. Danzo shivered with fear as Tobirama whispered into his ear, "but as a torture device". Tobirama struck his right hand smack on his temple. Danzo screamed as he felt his head literally being drilled into and he felt his vision begin to blacken...

 _Uchiha Clan Compound Archives_

The sole Uchiha stared at the photos of his childhood. He looked on as his mother happily pushed him on the swing, her hair flowing behind her. He saw his father look at him affectionately as he was perched upon Itachi's shoulders, his hands deep in his elder brother's hair. He shifted the pages of the album to see a picture of him staring reverently at his elder brother and then hero, as Itachi was practising his katas. He skimmed through the rest of the pages, experiencing a lifetime's worth of memories, feeling more alive than he'd felt in years. He sighed wistfully, it had been years since he'd visited this dusty old place. Immediately after the clan massacre; his first instinct had been to burn the place down, not just the photo albums, but the whole clan compound. He'd have had no use of it for he was alone, and he wanted no memory of Itachi anywhere near him. Yet something told him not to. He remembered Itachi's last words to him-' _Hate me. Detest me. And see me only when you have eyes like mine'_. Even though Sasuke now knew it was a set-up, he still couldn't believe himself. _'How could you do it? Your own blood, your own family, children, women, everyone. Even your own parents. Why didn't you spare them? Why didn't you kill me as well? Why did you force this hateful existence upon me? Did you not love me?'_ Sasuke was practically screaming the last part. His entire existence was built upon a lie. For the past six years, all he'd done was strive for power. Power to kill the murderer of his family, power to avenge them.

And just as Sasuke had finally unlocked the enormous power of the Sharingan- it turned out there was a higher level of the Sharingan, only unlocked by the most elite of the Uchiha warriors. Knowing his brother Itachi and his notorious battle prowess, he ought to have unlocked it by now. And as if things weren't bad enough for Sasuke, even Naruto of all people had somehow achieved it. Sasuke wasn't able to fathom how that was possible. Naruto was the son of Kushina Uzumaki-a full-blooded Uzumaki and the Yondaime, though his ancestry was unknown. Sasuke had been a spectator to Naruto's apparently instantaneous rise in fame and power. In mere days the dobe had usurped all of Sasuke's respect and power within the village. No longer were ballads being made about the last Uchiha survivor, instead people were gushing praise about the son of their beloved Yondaime Hokage. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He was experiencing a foreign emotion-jealousy. One which he'd assured himself he'd never have to feel due to his heritage as the son of the Uchiha clan head. But Sasuke was living in the past-he didn't want to accept reality; the Uchiha clan was all but terminated, and he would follow them if he went down the dark, dangerous path he'd burdened himself with.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I'm coming for you" the young Uchiha declared. Although he wouldn't admit it, his jealousy of Naruto extended beyond the mere adulation of the village- it lied deep inside his heart, at the very root of his existence-his brother Itachi. The way Naruto had spoke about him would have lead a stranger into thinking Itachi was Naruto's own brother. Which deep down, hidden beneath all the tears and darkness, still existed-his love for his brother. _'Is that why he was never around much? Because he was busy looking after Naruto? Is that why he killed everyone? Because he loved Naruto more than us?'_ Sasuke questioned himself. His jealousy and hatred for Naruto grew to toxic levels. He closed his eyes, trying to kill off the flow of tears.

He looked back at the photo of himself and Itachi, concentrating hard on his brother's face, he swore something to himself- _'Itachi, I'm going to rip out your eyeballs and sacrifice them to our parent's shrine'_ , blood falling down his cheeks- his eyes morphing into the blood red signature of the Mangeykou Sharingan...

Outside, Tayuya smirked as she looked in on the proceedings.

 _Elsewhere_

 _A five year old desperately ran into the forest as he was chased by an unruly mob. He flung himself into a tiny ditch and wrapped his arms around himself, sobbing inconsolably. Hearing the roars and screams of the mob get louder, he put his hand over his mouth, in a fruitless attempt to mask his gasps. The boy lay there for what seemed an eternity, and when he thought the bad people had left him, he rose out of the ditch, and silently made his way back to his house. Just when he stepped out of the forest, he felt something painfully wrap itself around his left leg. Before he could realise it he was flung into the air, and trapped in a net made of barbed wire. He cried out as the sharp, cold metal dug into his skin. "Shut up demon-boy!" one of the drunk chunins screamed, throwing his broken bottle of sake at his upside down figure. It razor-like shards struck him on his left Achilles heel, which was already bruised, began to bleed. He sobbed, trying to clutch and nurse his left foot as best he could. Another of the drunk ninjas called out "Yes! Die! Die and bleed to death demon-brat! Today we will avenge the death of our comrades! Today we will kill the Kyubi and become heroes!" he declared as everyone else joined in and sang songs cursing the 'demon-brat' in their drunk revelry. All the while the child hung against the branch, pleading and begging for someone to rescue him._

 _Outskirts of the village_

 _Jiraiya shouldered his rucksack and looked up to the village gates. He smiled wistfully, the memories rushing back to him. 'Five years away, and I still miss this place as much as when I was a genin. Damn, it's been a long time since I've done some research. I should probably invite Sarutobi-sensei and Minato's remaining student. My sources tell me the brat's grown into quite the pervert' he internally giggled to himself as he moved into the village. When he entered the village, he was alerted by a loud commotion emanating from within the forest. Initially dismissing it as just another wild party, he moved forward. He was then alarmed by the massive chakra radiating from the first. Jiraiya was no sensor, but even he could recognise the malicious nature of this chakra. Jiraiya gasped "Such chakra! It could only be the Kyubi's. That means" he trailed off as his brain racked up the answers and he immediately pounded into the forest._

 _The Forest_

 _The boy wept into exhaustion, losing consciousness. Waking up, he found himself to be in what seemed to be like a gutter. He wiped his eyes dry from his tears and moved inside. Eventually, he reached a big gate. He squinted to see what was on the other side of the gate. Seeing nothing, he turned around to leave. Instead, he was greeted with a growl. Turning around, he saw a pair of huge red eyes staring at him. Whimpering in fear, he slowly stepped backwards. **"Come closer"** the voice rang from the other side of the barrier. Naruto was rooted to the spot. Fear had overtaken every cell of his body, and he couldn't do anything but stare with wide eyes as the huge red eyes blinked dangerously at him. **"Come closer"** the voice spoke again, **"if you do not wish to die"** the voice coerced him. Now he could not speak much yet, even he understood what 'die' meant. It meant to go away forever, to leave everyone and go somewhere far away. "Me not die?" he asked the voice, slightly hopeful in his request._

 _The voice answered him **"No, you will not. Only if you listen to me"**._

 _The boy understood the general gist of the answer, 'Listen to Loud Noise, me not die' he explained himself. The boy nodded eagerly at the voice in acceptance. **"Now then, close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Concentrate. You will feel this aching in your stomach. Listen to it. Give in to it. That aching contains power beyond your wildest dreams.."** the voice trailed off as the little boy closed his eyes and listened to the strange voice. He did as told and felt a burning energy deep within his stomach. He listened to it and released it from his stomach, letting it slowly trickle throughout his body. His body turned more and more rigid as his body was being taken over by this weird power. It whispered things in his ears; bad things. The voice told him to kill everyone even when he didn't want to. Feeling the corrosive nature of the chakra slowly spread through him, he tried to fight back against it. It proved futile. Soon, his entire body froze up. He closed his eyes to process this strange sensation, only to open them back again and feel more...powerful. More powerful than he'd ever felt. He looked at his hands and saw huge nails protruding from them. He looked around him to find his vision heightened, and his hearing amplified. The voice spoke again, **"Now...Destroy!"**._

 _The boy looked below him, where the bad people where staring at him nervously, having felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere. They looked into his eyes apprehensively, and gasped. His eyes had changed into slits. And, if they squinted really hard, they could see an orange coat form around him. Before they could do anything, the boy spoke up "Yes. Me not die" his voice was much more feral now, "Me" he growled "make YOU die!" and he lunged at them, easily breaking the net as the night was pierced by their blood and screams..._

 _Present Day_

Naruto woke up, gasping profusely. Soaked in his own sweat, he cursed himself, ' _Why did it have to be that dream? Out of all them, it had to be worst and most horrible incident?'._ He sat up, dropping his head into his hands, trying to erase from his mind that particular memory. He'd take any other memory over that particular one. He shook his head-it was of no use. That had been one horrible episode. It was the first time he'd ever given in to the Kyubi's power. Even thinking about it now left him reeling with guilt; and somehow, even though he hadn't wanted to, he ended up replaying that horrible memory.

 _Flashback_

 _Jiraiya ran for all he was worth, deep into the recesses of the forest. Out of all the forests he could have ran into, why did it have to be this one? The Forest of Death was dangerous even for seasoned jounins, let alone a little child and some civilians who'd no doubt driven said child into this forest. He finally reached the source of the commotion, and his mouth fell in horror at the scene in front of him._

 _Little Naruto was jumping from one person to another, ripping their guts apart with his huge fangs and claws. His blood-red eyes had a distinct feral glare, and their shape resembled a fox's eyes. Naruto sniffed the air as he was hunched over one of the drunk strangers, who Jiraiya recognised as a chunin due to his headband and attire. Naruto sniffed the air and turned his head at Jiraiya. His eyes narrowed dangerously and he growled aggressively, as he pushed his legs back and brought his hands to the ground. He roared at Jiraiya before jumping at him, his hands outstretched. Jiraiya moved away at the last moment. Naruto turned back at him, snarling. Jiraiya began formulating a plan. he could faintly detect multiple chakra signatures converging on them from all directions. Pretty soon they'd be surrounded, and that wouldn't be a pretty sight. He wasn't afraid for his own self, but for Naruto's._

 _As the jinchurikki of the village, he already had a black mark on his reputation; killing Konoha citizens would do him no good. Jiraiya had to stop this rampage, and fast. From the deep recesses of his mind, he could sense the now declined yet still formidable chakra of his mentor nearing him, as well as a dark, insidious chakra that reeked of malicious intent. "Great" Jiraiya gritted his teeth, "even Danzo's sensed this". This was the last thing Jiraiya had needed. Danzo would use this to make Naruto one of his mindless ROOT pawns. Jiraiya managed to dodge once more as his godson tried to jump him, and set up a simple yet dazzling Katon jutsu, enough to momentarily distract him. He secretly formed a shadow clone and struck Naruto on his back, who fell onto the ground face-first. He tried to get up but Jiraiya's shadow clone had already wrapped the shuriken wire around him. He tried to remove it by rolling around in it, but to no avail. 'This isn't just any shuriken wire. Once I'd even managed to capture Tsunade naked in it... Jiraiya giggled kinkily, before shaking his head and focusing back on the task at hand._

 _Naruto growled at him, his fangs sticking out of his mouth. Jiraiya drowned out the moans and whimpers of the injured, and looked deep into Naruto's eyes. He called his name out "Naruto". No effect. A second time, "Naruto", the boy momentarily stopped. A third time-the boy stopped growling._

 _Naruto was feeling dizzy. He was being lulled to sleep by the strong, deep voice of a man; yet just moments ago be was tearing apart screaming people. Well, **he** wasn't. It was like he was watching himself do it, even though some part of his brain was telling himself not to. And now here he was, lying on the ground, something sharp pressing into him, staring into someone who looked a bit like the yellow-haired man from his dream..._

 _He was shaken out of his thoughts by the man repeatedly calling out his name. And Naruto somehow felt obliged to listen to him. He was almost never referred to by his name-only 'demon-boy' or 'monster'. Slowly, Naruto could feel the burning chakra recede to his stomach, and eventually disappear. He stared silently into the man's eyes, breathing slowly. As the man freed him from his trap, Naruto looked around him. The horror now got to him, as he realised just what he had been doing. He had been so close to killing someone. He brought his hand up to his mouth to choke his sobs, as tears poured down his cheek. The kind man placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder for comfort, and smiled kindly at him. Before Naruto could say thank you however, he felt a lot of movement behind him. He turned around to see who it was. Before he could properly see what it was. He was spun around by the huge man, who took him into his arms and all of a sudden Naruto felt as if he was being pulled at from all directions. The next thing he knew he was in a small room. Exhaustion seeped through his bones, and he fell onto the futon behind him. As he closed his eyes, he could've sworn he'd seen a man with only one eye..._

 _Present Day_

After Naruto had woken up, Jiraiya had explained to him what exactly had happened. He had repeatedly assured him that it had been none of his fault, yet Naruto still held himself guilty over it. When he'd asked him about the one-eyed man, Jiraiya had told him not to worry. It was only later, that he found out who that one-eyed man was-Danzo Shimura, the infamous war-hawk. To this day, Naruto hadn't been told just how on Earth Jiraiya had managed to haul Naruto's ass out of the entire shit-storm unscathed. He'd have to have argued with over half the village to just stop Naruto from getting executed, let alone remain untouched. He'd been indebted to Jiraiya for a lifetime since then. It didn't matter to Naruto that Jiraiya hadn't been around for the first five years of his life, he'd come back and taken in Naruto in like a godfather. And even though he was a massive pervert, he'd always cut time off from his 'research' to train Naruto.

Just as Naruto was reminiscing about his godfather, the godfather himself shun-shined into their tent. "Oi Naruto, make me some ramen. It's your turn today" Jiraiya demanded. Naruto protested "Ero-sennin! You make it yourself. It was your turn yesterday and you ended up burning the ramen".

Jiraiya scratched his head in embarrassment, "Well, what can I say? I was too busy practising fuinjutsu".

"No you weren't. You were too busy peeping at naked girls" Naruto rectified him. Jiraiya laughed perversely, and Naruto face-palmed. What was he going to do with Jiraiya?

 _Konohakagure Council_

The council was currently in session and the mood was tense. There was a proposal from Sunagakure-the kind of which was unheard of in centuries. "This is utter garbage!" Inuzuka Tsume barked. "Surely we can't be considering accepting this!" she protested fiercely.

Inoichi Yamanaka tried to calm her down with a placating gesture, "Now now, Tsume. Calm down. This is not something that should be dismissed without further perusal. if we play our cards correctly, we may well end up gaining the lion's share of the reward here. Think about it, the only son of the Yondaime Hokage wed to the only daughter of the Yondaime Hokage. Such a union would be fruitful to all parties involved, especially us" he reasoned.

Akimichi Choza looked at him warily, "Iniochi, don't talk of them as mere instruments. They're just children. This is a burden far too great for them".

"And since when were children capable of razing entire armies on their own, Choza" Shikaku Nara countered in his usual lazy drawl. He forego of his bored expression, and spoke again with more fervour. "You, Inoichi and I may be the best of friends, but this is always something where we'll always disagree. Accept the reality: shinobi are instruments. An instrument of death, of peace, of espionage, or even alliances if the need may arise. You, me, all of us in this chamber have been shinobi for a long, long time, and we all have made sacrifices for our motherland. A lot of us have been married in order to foster political relations. Have our marriages not worked out?" he asked.

"They're too young, Shika" Inuzuka Tsume resisted. The Nara clan head raised an eyebrow at this. "No ninja is too young. Anyways, I've always followed the principle-old enough to kill-old enough to fuck" he shrugged at her. "Besides, Naruto is obliged to put the interests of the village before his own, considering his status as the sole survivor of a clan, a Kage's clan-the Namikaze clan. If earlier Kage's and their families underwent political marriages, why can't he?" Shikaku questioned the entire council, all of whom were at a loss of words.

Finally, it was Choza who spoke again, "Don't compare Naruto with the others! You talk of him being the sole son of the Yondaime and the Namikaze clan, yet you forget that Naruto has been treated like the son of a pauper his entire life! He has but few substantial bonds in the village. By forcing him into this, we will only alienate him further and provide less reasons for him to stay loyal to the village" Choza reasoned.

"Fine" Shikaku sighed, "since the council cannot come to a decision, I believe we should call in our former Hokages. Any objections?" he called out. Hearing no dissent, he signalled the messenger to seek out the three former Hokages and bring them here. All this while, one individual had remained silent. Hyuga Hiashi sat in deathly silence; his face morphed into a worried frown, completely unlike the arrogant look he always donned. The sensible and rational side of him had been tempted to say yes. This act was very traditional. And if nothing, Hyuga Hiashi _was_ traditional. Besides, the Uzumaki brat had played a prank too many on the Hyugas. This would be nothing less than fitting punishment for the brat. Yet a smaller, emotional and fatherly side of himself which he had almost never let manifest, was telling him to do the opposite thing. He knew of his eldest daughter's feelings for the boy, and deep down he knew that the boy would take care of his daughter. But he was concerned about the boy's jinchurikki status. He'd be targeted his entire life, and Hiashi wasn't going to put his daughter under that kind of threat. He turned around to see Inuzuka Tsume looking at him weirdly. he sighed, "What is it, Tsume?"

The Inuzuka matriarch raised an eyebrow at this, Hiashi never referred to anyone by his first name. This meant something was bothering him. Tsume smiled wickedly. She had to know what was troubling him. "So, Hiashi" she asked slyly, "what have you chosen? Yes or no?" she smirked at him. Hiashi was saved from opening as the doors to the chamber nearly flew out of their hinges as the Nidaime bounded in, followed by an embarrassed looking Shodaime and the Sandaime who was trying to look as small and inconspicuous as possible. Senju Tobirama looked dangerously angrily, as he stalked up to the centre of the podium and snatched the marriage contract from the table. "What is the meaning of this?!" he fumed. "The envoy you sent outlined to us the terms and conditions of this 'political marriage', and I'm flabbergasted some of you were even considering to agree to it".

"Please listen to us Nidaime-sama" Shikaku intoned, the fear evident in his voice. Tobirama only glared at him. Taking the Nidaime's silence as a yes, Shikaku continued "This is a very profitable venture for us. Not only financially, but also in terms of security. On top of being the strongest ninja village, the arrival of yourself and Shodaime-sama, coupled with that of one of the Sand's most promising kunoichi would only serve to further our reputation amongst potential clients whilst also preventing war" he pointed out.

"You speak the truth Nara" Tobirama admitted, "but you forget one thing. You can talk all you want about money and power, but fact is, this village has no need of either resource. in fact, we have too much of them. What are you going to do with all the extra money. Store it as a safety net for wartime? You don't have to worry about that. Hashirama and I will ensure there will be no war. What I'm here to do is, to remind you of who you are" he explained.

"Remind me of who I am?" Shikaku repeated, confused.

"Yes" the younger Senju brother confirmed, "but not just you, all of us. We are Konohakagure no Sato. Greatest of all the Five Major Villages. The very reason why my brother and I built this village alongside Madara Uchiha was to unite people. To bring entire clans together and bound them through one thing-the Leaf. So that they may be able to live together, to fight together, to die together. It was so we could look to our own people for help, instead of negotiating trade deals with individual clans. You people are so entrenched as to whether you can do this or not, you didn't stop to think whether you should. That boy has gone through more horrors than most of the people in this room combined, and the fact that he is still of sane mind and body is a wonder. Since birth everything has been predetermined for him. By predetermining his life partner you are robbing him of his basic rights. Besides, how do we know for sure that Suna has no evil intentions. We saw what happened the last time this council blindly trusted them. The girl may be sent in as a spy for all we know. What will you do then?".

The growing murmurs in the village were dispelled by the elder Senju brother, "You too, are correct brother. Naruto has been living a predetermined life; robbed of his own free will. Yet you forget something-so did we".

"Back then it was different! There wasn't any village-there were only clans. Besides, that was war-time" Tobirama countered.

"For someone like Naruto, there will never be peace. Jinchurikkis are instruments of war. In times of peace, they have no reason to exist. No sane father would ever give his daughter to someone like Naruto. Even though it's out of no fault of his own" Hashirama looked at the council, who had become sullen and dejected at his words. "This alliance is the only chance he has at happiness" he declared. "Besides, we have you, the legendary Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju. Your sensory skills can detect people and their lineages from even countries away. I'm sure you'll keep us safe" he buttered up to his younger brother to sway both him and the council. He saw the council shaking their heads in agreement and out of the corner of his eyes saw Hiruzen smirking at him, having realised his plan.

Tobirama sighed, closing his eyes. He knew there was no chance of upturning the decision now. Not when Hashirama was like this. This wasn't the elder brother he used to drag out of casinos; this was the God of Shinobi he'd spent his entire lifetime fighting alongside knowing he'd be safe whilst he was in the battlefield. He closed his eyes, sighing "Fine. But if anything happens to Naruto or the village," he reopened his eyes "I'll kill you" he warned his brother. Hashirama simply smiled at him, knowing this was his way of saying he cared for Naruto.

 **Sorry I haven't updated in so long. You might notice some of the characters might seem a bit OC here, like Hashirama being smarter than the goofy idiot he is or Orochimaru seemingly less villainous than in canon. Well, I just wanted to increase the complexity of some of the characters, all of whom I think are kick-ass. Except Sakura of course-she can go fuck herself. And if anyone has a problem with that, well what can I say? You can go fuck yourself too :-).**


	6. Chapter 6-The Slug Princess

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

Special Jounin Anko Mitarashi slumped on her seat, lazily twirling the dango stick in her mouth. She was about to head off when she sensed someone materialise behind her. She spun around to see an ANBU looking her dead in the eye. "Tokubetsu Jounin Anko Mitarashi, you have been summoned by the council. You have five minutes to arrive" and just like that the ANBU shun-shined away. She groaned, picking all the dango off the stick before shun-shining her way to the entrance of the council. Ever since the ROOT fiasco, Jiraiya of the Sannin and the 2nd Hokage had placed anti-shunshin seals all over the council chambers, preventing anyone but the highest ranking members of the Konoha hierarchy from Body Flickering in or out of the building. She nudged the chamber door open and slipped in, to find all eyes on her. Sarutobi dispelled the growing silence "I'm sure you're wondering why we've summoned at such haste Anko-chan. Don't worry though, you won't have to wait too long" he kindly informed her. Anko smiled at him, slightly bowing at him. The Sandaime had treated her like a grandchild despite her dark past as Orochimaru's apprentice, and had taken her in and brought her back to the light- she was forever indebted to him. The Shodaime added to the successor of his successor's word "We won't keep you waiting too long Anko-chan. he should be here quicker than he usually is; my otouto made sure to provide him with some extra motivation" he spoke jovially as if he was hosting show-and-tell at a kindergarten, not a meeting of the most powerful council on the world.

"Here he comes" the Shodaime's otouto sighed, closing his eyes, "looks like I've still got it" he muttered, resting his head against a wall. Anko was confused as to who or what they were talking about until she felt the air shift behind her and she turned around to see a bright orange book depicting a scantily clad woman straddling a man bound to a chair with a gag on his mouth. She followed the arm holding it to find a spiky-haired man giggling profusely as he flipped the page.

The Sandaime asked him "Ah Kakashi-kun, I see you've started Icha Icha: Interrogation already. How are you finding it?". The Nidaime shot a glare at the elite jounin, daring him to answer that question. Having the appropriate amount of fear, Kakashi put the book away and greeted everyone.

Inoichi Yamanaka addressed the sole Hatake in amusement "My my Kakashi-san, for once you're on time. Looks like you really are that afraid of Nidaime-sama".

"Of course I am-he threatened to either seal away my manhood or all the Icha Icha books if I didn't arrive within five minutes; both if I didn't turn up within ten".

Anko sweat-dropped at this, here was the most powerful jounin of the village, afraid of castration and his books being taken from him. Even by her standards that was weird. Hashirama advised the council "All of us should be wary of Tobirama's warning. Even people from within our clan feared it. There's a reason why one of his titles is 'The Testy'. I assure you it's there for a very specific reason". Most of the men in the room gulped; indeed even the usually emotionless Hyuga Hiashi looked slightly pale. Inuzuka Tsume barked in laughter "You men are all the same. Shinobi or civilian- you all just want to have sex".

The Sandaime called for everyone's attention, preventing everyone from going off topic. "Anyways, now that we are all gathered here, let's get to the point. Elite Jounin Kakashi Hatake, Tokubetsu Jounin Anko Mitarashi; you must be wondering why your presence has been demanded at such short notice. The reason is of utmost importance. The council of Sunagakure no Sato has sent us a new improved peace treaty. And we have decided to accept it. The two of you are tasked with the completion of one of the clauses of the alliance- the safe return of the Yondaime Kazekage's children. Due to the status of the individuals being moved, this will be listed as a S-Rank mission. Any questions?".

Kakashi spoke up "Sandaime-sama, why are they being sent back to Suna? More importantly, why are we accepting their terms? We have experienced firsthand the effects of their treachery".

Hyuga Hiashi answered him "That is the decision of the council, Hatake-san. It is not for you to know". Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at him and was about to retort before the Nidaime spoke for him "It is for him to know, Hyugai-san. It affects one of his students, and as his jounin sensei he has the right to know". Both Kakashi and Anko looked at him, perplexed. Kakashi aired both of their confusions "Who are you talking about Nidaime-sama?".

Tobirama looked at the council before replying "The council of Sunagakure no Sato has sent terms of a new alliance to us. The alliance is based on an age-old ritual which was once prominent, but has died out since the end of the Third Shinobi War. It was used as a deterrent to war, much like a jinchurikki is. The losing side in a war would send over a bride to be wed to one of the shinobi of the winning side, and any children they spawned would gain dual-nationality of the two nations. Hence in the best interests of everyone, further conflict would be avoided. Sunagakure has deemed it necessary to reactivate this archaic act".

Kakashi asked him carefully, his mind shifting through gears as he processed what this meant "And which two shinobi have been chosen Nidaime-sama?". It was Hyuga Hiashi who answered softly, "Temari of the Sand and Uzumaki Naruto". **(AN: Even though Naruto's lineage has been revealed, he will still go by the surname of 'Uzumaki')** Kakashi turned himself around to stare at the Hyuga patriarch, who stared right back at him. Even Anko was surprised at this, and questioned the Sandaime "Any particular reason why those two specific people were chosen?"

The Sandaime responded to her query "I would consider that rather easy to figure out, no? Suna want to prove their loyalty, and what better way then to wed of a spawn of their Kage to a spawn of ours? And why Naruto? Going by his accomplishments alone he would be their first choice, and that too only from the chunin exams. The boy's done all sorts of things down at the ANBU. Suna are smart, by choosing two powerful shinobi to wed and eventually breed more powerful shinobi, they are also arming themselves. During times of war, they would be obligated to fight for both parties, whilst also staying out of any potential hostility between them".

Anko raised an eyebrow, this was obviously well thought by Suna; and even more by Konoha for them to agree to it. Kakashi spoke out "I see. I had expected some sort of alliance featuring Naruto, but not to this extent. I fully expect him to fulfil his mission. Anyways, like they say- old enough to kill, old enough to fuck". Shikaku Nara smirked lazily at him whilst the Shodaime nodded in agreement. Then Anko had a thought that should have come to her when she was first told of this mission _'Wait a minute. Why am I being assigned to this mission alongside Kakashi. We don't really have much coordination and I am not experienced in desert warfare, should the need arise'_

Sarutobi seemed to read her mind, and smiled indulgently at her. "You must be wondering why we are assigning this mission to you both in particular. Well Anko-chan, due to your previous history with Orochimaru" Anko winced internally at this, she didn't like being reminded about it "you are as such well aware of his patterns, his tricks and his methods. Whilst there, you are also to assess the extent of Orochimaru's takeover of the Suna governance, whilst also keeping an eye out for him. Your cursed seal allows you to sense if he is near. Jiraiya and Kakashi have devised a method to restrict the impact of the cursed mark. There will be less of an effect on you, whilst not affecting your perception of him. Kakashi, I am sending you as backup for Anko. You also have a secondary mission motive, about which you will be debriefed in the Hokage tower later today. You have two days to leave, so pack accordingly". Kakashi and Anko nodded and accepted this as their dismissal. They both began walking away to the door. Anko looked at Kakashi "So, I'll see you in two days then". He saluted her and she turned back, not knowing what to say. Thinking of something, she looked back at him only to find him gone. Realising what had happened, she turned back to protest "Hey, how come he gets to teleport and I don't!".

 _Uchiha clan compound_

Kakashi materialised out of nowhere to the gates of a once feared clan's residence. He was about to move in when he sensed movement behind him. He swiftly spun around, gripping a kunai in a reverse grip. He saw the last Uchiha at the end of the kunai, staring at its sharp end with his eyes wide open. Kakashi removed the kunai and said "Yo" rubbing his head in embarrassment. His student scowled at him and walked past him into his home. Kakashi, having not received any indication from him as to follow him or not, he shrugged and traipsed behind him. He was met with a glare from Sasuke when he caught up with him. Sasuke hissed at him "What are you doing here?"

Kakashi smiled at him, "Oh, just visiting my favourite student. So what's been up with you recently. I know I haven't paid much attention to you since the invasion, what with the rebuilding effort and all the jounin having to go on increased missions. So I just thought I'd check up on you"

"You should leave" Sasuke told him flatly. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this. Sure, Sasuke was mostly indifferent to others, but even for him this was too cold. "Any particular reason" Kakashi quizzed him.

Sasuke shouted at him "Because this is my clan compound, and because I told you to! Now get lost!". Kakashi placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, stopping the young sharingan wielder from moving. He tried to shrug the hand off his shoulder, but Kakashi's hand remained steadfast. Sasuke glowered at his mentor menacingly, Sharingan spinning in his eye. Kakashi's hand remained where it was. "You've been giving in to the cursed mark, haven't you? I told you not to! Jiraiya-sama and I have been working on a method to contain it".

Sasuke shot back at him "And where have you gotten with that. You know for a smart guy you really don't know a thing. Now for the last time leave!". Kakashi pinched at his nose and sighed. "Fine" he agreed as his student walked past him without looking back, shun-shining away.

Sasuke continued on stalking back to his home. He had gone deep into the forest, trying to sulk in its oppressive solitude. But his thoughts were constantly being maligned by two entities- Itachi and Naruto. Just as he unlocked the door to his home, he heard a slight rustle in the leaves. Turning around at break-neck speed, he scanned the area vigilantly, sharingan eyes glowing. Finding nothing, he went back inside, convinced it was just a cat or a squirrel moving about.

 _In the shadows_

"Jirōbō you fat fuck" Tayuya cursed as she rubbed her foot, which had the misfortune of being trampled upon by Jirobo.

Kidōmaru reprimanded his foul-mouthed comrade "Silence Tayuya. Our cloaks may hide us from everyone's sight and smell, but our voices are still traceable".

Tayuya grumbled at him "Fuck that glass-eyed bastard Kabuto. Can't even make a cloak that masks us from every fucking possible sense".

"He told us that this is a prototype. We have time constraints to take into consideration as well; or do you want to upset Orochimaru-sama? Besides, Kabuto told us this was engineered specifically to negate the Nidaime Hokage's sensory skills. Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto ended up having to redo the whole first line of defense to make the village completely insensible" Kidōmaru informed her.

Sakon looked down from his hiding position and whispered "This is the optimal time to strike. The Uchiha has isolated himself from his teammates to the point of house-arresting himself for the better part of the last week. He is doing exactly what Orochimaru-sama said he would".

Jirōbō looked at him "So I take it Orochimaru-sama has been revived, Sakon-san?". Sakon looked at him pensively, trying to think of an appropriate reply. Kabuto had told him not to divulge much information, but this was their leader. Besides, Orochimaru-sama's presence would make them think twice before daring to fail. "Yes" he decided, and turned away to look back on the Uchiha, who seemed to have returned to his favourite task-brooding.

 _ShinobiSpace_ **(AN: Fictional bar in Konoha, shinobi-exclusive)**

Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi joined hands, looking at each other with an emotion one would not associate to "mere colleagues". Their moment was ruined by another jounin "Sheesh, get a room".

Asuma grumbled under his breath whilst Kurenai rolled her eyes at him "And thank you for that, Kakashi. Instead of mocking our relationship, why don't you try getting into a real relationship for once?".

"You call this" Kakashi pointed between the two of them "a relationship? This is the closest I've seen you get near each other. Jeez, I was having more contact with women when I was 15".

"Assassinating enemy kunoichi and inspecting their corpses for any valuable items doesn't count as 'intimate contact' Kakashi" Asuma deadpanned. Kurenai laughed and the cyclops-like jounin merely shrugged. She asked him "So, how are things going with your team? I mean, since there's temporarily three members" she clarified.

Kakashi took a breath before replying, "Well, I've been kicked out of the Uchiha clan compound and my sole kunoichi protege still shows no interest in anything remotely ninja-related".

Kurenai looked confused "Wait a minute. I thought Sakura's academy report said she had a knack for genjutsu. She doesn't even want to focus on at least that respect of the shinobi arts?".

Asuma explained to her "The academy was previously run by the civilians. And since Sakura's mother was on the council and her father a wealthy trader, it was in their best interests to ensure Sakura's apparent brilliance. Obviously, we now know that is the farthest thing from the truth. I'm thankful Ino isn't as bad as her. While she does concentrate a lot on her looks and figure, coming from a prominent clan she is spurred on to practise by her family". Asuma thanked his stars for that.

Kakashi ordered a drink and sat down on the stool next to him "Guess I'm going to have to call in a favour from Anko".

Kurenai glared at him in slight displeasure for gate-crashing their date, before remembering something "Oh wait. What's up with her. I saw her running to the Hokage tower saying something about you got to shun-shin and she doesn't. What's that all about".

Kakashi chuckled, "Nothing much. Just that since Danzo's little stunt, only the most senior shinobi are able to Body-Flicker in or out of the council chamber. Guess she's pissed about that".

Kurenai sat up from her seat "YOU'RE allowed to Body-Flicker in? How come the rest of us aren't?"

"Well, he's not the only one who is. I can too" Asuma revealed. He soon wished he hadn't as Kurenai turned on him. He put his hands up as a defensive measure "Well you never asked me, so I just assumed you knew". He was relieved when she sat down. "Hokage's son" she muttered.

Kakashi defended his fellow jounin "That's not the reason. He use to be one of the 12 guards for the Fire Daimyo. That's a pretty high ranking position. You either do something like that or be a jounin for at least 10 years, then you can shun-shin in and out of there as much as you want" Kakashi performed a mock-Maito Guy pose, showing them the thumbs up and the winking. The pair laughed at his antics. If it were anyone else that statement would've been a complete act of arrogance. But Kakashi was totally unassuming- even his appearance accentuated that. She wondered if even that was a clever trick or a coincidence. Then again, with the Copy Ninja you could never be sure.

The Copy Ninja broke their silence "Well, I guess Sandaime-sama's going to have his hands full. He's still having to stay on as caretaker Hokage until the Godaime arrives".

"That would be nice. He deserves a break every now and then" Kurenai stated.

Asuma looked at her strangely "He does, doesn't he? Being Hokage for forty years; the most important thing in the world" he trailed off, the anger quite detectable in his voice. Kurenai looked at him sadly; he'd told her about how the Sandaime often had to neglect his family for the sake of the village, and as such Asuma and his brother grew up without ever really having a father around. "Asuma" Kurenai whispered, not knowing what to say.

Trying to remove his mind from the memory, she abruptly asked Kakashi "So, why were you and Anko even in the council chamber in the first place?"

"Oh, just for a mission briefing" Kakashi answered vaguely, not divulging anything else.

Asuma looked at him quizzically" In front of the entire council? Must be a very important mission then".

"It is" Kakashi mumbled.

Kurenai pressed him further "What type?".

Kakashi looked at them "S-rank". He smirked; that got the couple to shut up. By law, even jounins were not allowed to be aware of the existence and details of missions ranked A- or above; except under extreme circumstances.

Asuma gulped "Oh. That's odd. The old man normally doesn't assign missions A-ranked or higher to ninjas who've never worked together before".

Kakashi responded to this "We all know these aren't 'normal times'. What with the First and Second coming back and Suna's betrayal, I feel we are going to enter a very turbulent period in the shinobi world. And this is coming from a guy who waged war when he was twelve". Asuma and Kurenai had to agree with him. "Anyways" Kakashi slurped his drink empty, setting it down "I better head off. I've got an S-rank to look forward to" he left a few bills on the counter and shun-shined away.

That left Asuma and Kurenai alone again. So, Asuma spoke "Wanna have a movie marathon at my place? I've got The Notebook and The proposal"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow at him "Are you asking me to spend the night at your place?". Asuma nodded, his heart pounding against his rib-cage. He'd been wanted to take the next step in their relationship for some time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity

His heart hammered against his rib-cage as she regarded him and finally said "Sure", a warm smile on her face. He grinned and took her hand shun-shining away together.

 _Tanzaku Gai_

The dark haired woman gaped in utter shock at the front of her sight. Her shishou had finally won something in a casino. Her shishou seemed to be in shock too, though hers was only expressed through a slight widening of the eyes and a minute tightening of her lips. "Tsunade-sama, what happened? Are you alright?" the younger woman asked with a tone used to converse with the ill. The elder blonde woman looked a her in irritation, herself well aware of what had just transpired.

She declared it as a mere fluke and set about testing her luck again. Again, she won. She shrugged it off as another fluke. She carried on like this a further ten times, and by the end she was frozen in horror. It took a miracle for her to win even a single hand, let alone a dozen. The last time this had occurred...her brother had died. Shaking off those dark memories, she abruptly got off her chair and started walking away.

Her disciple lagged behind her carrying both their belongings. "Tsunade-sama! Where are we going? Our hotel is that way" she caught up with her, gasping for breath. Her master replied without looking back "We're leaving this town. Something's not right here". But what she actually meant was ' _It's just like Nawaki. I don't want to lose you too, you're all I've got'_.

The Slug Sannin and her apprentice moved along the side-road of the village lord's castle, when Tsunade detected a foreign scent in the air. Her mastery of Iryō-ninjutsu afforded her the ability to easily pick up the smallest of smells. And this was a scent she could recognise with her nose blocked; and it was also one she'd hoped never to encounter again.

"Kukuku Tsunade-chan. It's been a long, long time. And Shizune-chan, you've grown into quite a beautiful woman". The pair turned around to Orochimaru with that devious smirk of his she detested, and a silver-haired bespectacled man around Shizune's age grinning at them. Without warning, Tsunade launched herself at them. Anticipating this, the Otokage and his right hand man leapt backwards, avoiding her near-fatal strike. They had to split up to avoid her next blow, which came right in between both of them.

Meanwhile, behind her Shizune had dropped their possessions and began moving through hand-seals. Before she could finish her move, the younger of their enemies moved toward her and jabbed a kunai into her throat, preventing her from reciting the incantation for 'Ninpo: Doku misuto **(Ninja Style: Poison Mist)**. Orochimaru dodged the last of his former teammate's strikes before her attention went to her pupil's plight. "Shizune" she gasped. Orochimaru had stuck her right up a creak. He had anticipated that she would go head first in an assault on both of them; and he had distracted her enough for his own student to ambush her, who by the looks of it had to be high jounin at the very least. She grit her teeth, her former friend was sometimes too smart for his own good.

Orochimaru chuckled at her "Fists first and questions later eh Tsunade? You haven't changed one bit. But look where it's got you now. Will you save your student, or will you run away like you always do?". Tsunade growled at him. She was too far away from her student to save her; and Orochimaru was looking intently at her; as if reading her very mind. Considering the man's evil genius coupled with his lack of morality, she wouldn't be surprised if he was capable of exactly that.

After trying to stall for an opening, she opened dialogue with him "Why are you here?".

Her former teammate smirked at her "Finally you talk business. I'm not going to beat around the bush here, I'll tell you flatly. I'll pay off all your gambling debts.." he paused, as if about to reveal something ominous "and I'll revive your lover and your baby brother. As long as you heal me. My latest battle with Sarutobi sensei has left me wrecked. So what say Tsunade, will you agree to it. You know you want to see them again" he coaxed her, confident that she would yield to her temptations.

Tsunade had gone pale as a white sheet of paper, while she heard Shizune croak. How much of that was due to what her genin teammate had just said, and how much due to the line of blood pouring down her neck, Tsunade did not know; and she did not care. She couldn't take her mind off what she had just heard- _'I'll revive your lover and your baby brother'_. She felt a slight trembling in her hands and looked down to see them shaking like pebbles. These hands. The very hands in which two of the most important people of her life had perished. Which had held them in their dying moments, helpless to save them.

She knew to agree would be the most immoral of sins; yet she found herself wondering that is just for a moment, a moment only, what it would be like to have them back. She was broken out of her wishful thinking by Shizune's screams "Tsunade-sama! Don't listen to him. You know how he is. Don't say yes!" by the end of her ministrations she was coughing profusely due to the kunai Orochimaru's henchman was pressing into her neck. Orochimaru smiled smugly at his former teammate's plight. His words had hit her hard, and he knew she was extremely close to giving in to his offer.

"I'll give you a week to think on it. In return, I want you to heal me and assist me in some of my projects. I'm giving you what you most desire, and oh, I'll even not raze your precious village to the ground".

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the serpentine man, knowing he was not telling her the entire truth. "And what if I refuse" she challenged her fellow Sannin. Orochimaru smirked at her, as if expecting that answer. "Well then" he pointed to both their wards "I guess I'll just have Kabuto-kun take the last remaining precious thing in your life". As if to emphasise his point, the man dug his kunai slightly deeper into Shizune's throat, who'd gone pale as milk from the blood loss. Tsunade quickly looked away, her haemophobia resurfacing. Orochimaru noticed this, and his lips curved more upward. "And considering your condition, I doubt you'd be able to give even Kabuto-kun a hard time". Tsunade glared at him. He chuckled at her before signalling Kabuto to rejoin him. They gave her one last look before leaving.

Immediately, Tsunade rushed to Shizune's side, who'd collapsed from her blood loss. Just prior to touching her, Tsunade flinched. The blood and the gore made her feel sick, and she slightly reeled back in fear. Shizune healed herself and joined Tsunade. "It's okay Tsunade-sama. I'm fine now" Shizune spoke raspily, her vocal cords not fully healed. The Legendary Sucker stared at the spot where her ex-teammate had just been. He had not been lying about being able to beat her. In her prime, she would've been more than a match for him. Now, after 20 years of constant booze and no practice, she was quite obviously incapable of keeping up with her teammate.

Shizune looked at her worriedly "Tsunade-sama, please don't listen to Orochimaru. He's the biggest traitor in Konoha's history". Seeing her mentor's far-away and disinterested expression, she pleaded with her "Tsunade-sama please. Tell me what you are thinking".

Tsunade sighed, looking at her, "I'm thinking...I need some alcohol" she decided. She dusted off her clothes and walked away as if nothing had happened, leaving behind a trailing Shizune with all their package.

 _Later that night_

Naruto was irritated with his godfather. First he'd been hauled across god-knows-how-many-villages hunting for the stupid oaf's old teammate to become the next Hokage; and he wouldn't even tell anything him anything about her. "It's best to decide for yourself" was the answer he received any time he asked anything remotely related to her. Naruto knew even less about her than that traitorous bastard Orochimaru- Jiraiya's other teammate. _'Seems there is some sort of history between them. But why and specifically between which of them, is yet to be known'_ Naruto analysed. He regarded Jiraiya secretly- the man seemed to have gotten less and less goofier and sarcastic as their journey stretched on. The only other time Naruto had seen Jiraiya serious outside of battle was on his parent's anniversary day and on the anniversary day of the formal inception of the Dengetsu no Sannin. In both occasions, it had been someone extremely dear to him. Naruto wondered if they were mere teammates or if there was more to the story than he was being told.

Jiraiya slapped him on the back "Come on gaki, let's have something to eat in here" he pointed to a bar. Naruto pointed out to him in annoyance "Oi Ero-sennin. You know I can't drink. Why can't we just go to a ramen joint or something?". Jiraiya sighed in exasperation at him. "We're not going in there to get drunk brat. We're going in there to find some answers. Places like these can hold the most valuable of secrets" he pointed out to his godson. He shook his as realisation dawned on Naruto's face. It was clear his espionage skills were still a work in progress.

Jiraiya performed a quick scan of his surroundings to check for any missing-nin or any enemy village shinobi. Not that anyone would be foolish enough to try to face him alone. His eyes whizzed around the far end of the room to find a large cleavage. He narrowed his eyes and looked harder to see who it belonged to, seeing a buxom blonde staring intently at him. His eyes fixated on hers for a moment before he gasped. "Tsunade!" he yelled, his finger pointing at her as if in accusation. The woman abruptly stood up over her table, sending food flying in all four directions. "Jiraiya?" she shouted back in shock, cheeks tinted red.

Naruto watched their exchange with growing bewilderment. First they had screamed at each other at the top of their lungs as if they were about to kill each other; and here they were now playing cards wordlessly. _'To have this level of understanding even after all these years. It's unheard of. These Sannin really are something else'_ Naruto mentally mused. _'And it's also something I'll never have'_ he added bitterly, in response to his disaster of a team alongside Sasuke and Sakura.

And on top of that, this woman looked so... _young_. Naruto had seen genjutsus and Henges to change one's appearance, but here he could sense no outward expression of chakra to change her appearance. Because there was no way someone the same age as Ero-sennin could look so young. **(AN: I am yet to decide on their actual age. It all depends on a poll I am going to be setting up; the results of which will determine their ages)**

The dark haired woman sitting in front of him smiled embarrassingly at him; as if she too were freaked out at what was occurring before them. She pushed a plate of food towards him and he nodded thankfully, digging in. After a period of unbearable silence and tension, Naruto nudged his guardian and looked him directly in the eye-signalling him to start talking.

"Hime, have you heard about Konoha" he asked her.

She shuffled her cards around "Yes. Directly from the horse's mouth". Jiraiya breathed in sharply upon hearing this, while Naruto almost choked on what she was implying. Regaining his steely gaze, he looked at Jiraiya "Ero-sennin, how is that possible? I thought you had ended him for good?".

Jiraiya too focused on his cards "It is not that easy. Orochimaru has experimented within the realm of immortality for a long long time. You can't kill him so simply. You should know this, it has all been told to you".

Tsunade smirked from behind her cards "Your apprentices seem to get dumber, uglier and shorter with each time".

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her. Trying to goad him into doing something stupid, eh? Well, two can play at that game. Naruto smiled to himself "Oi Ero-sennin. Your teammates seem to uglier and uglier. The last one was more ladylike, and he wasn't even a lady".

Jiraiya tried to end their escalating battle of words "Ma ma Naruto. It's difficult on anyone to be compared to the Yondaime. He had all the qualities to become the greatest ninja ever".

"And just who is this brat, Jiraiya. He seems to have a mouth too big for his size". Jiraiya mentally chuckled. He was going to love Tsunade's reaction to his answer. He spoke casually "Oh, this guy. He's Uzumaki Naruto". He saw Tsunade's eyes widen the slightest of fractions-almost imperceptibly, but just enough for only him to see. _'The Kyubi gaki. No wonder Jiraiya took him on'_.

Shizune asked the million ryo question. "Jiraiya-sama, not that we are not glad to see you after all these years" Tsunade's eyes swerved towards her in annoyance of the term 'we'. Ignoring her, Shizune continued "but I must ask you, why have you seeked us out. Surely this can't just be a coincidence". Jiraiya looked at her, nodding in confirmation. Tsunade had done a fine job in raising her. "Of course not, we're all too smart for that. What I'm doing here, is looking for a replacement. Seeing the two kunoichi's perplexed expressions, he explained "Sarutobi sensei is old, and he isn't the leader nor the warrior he once was. As such, he is unable to fulfil his role as Hokage. So what I'm doing here is" he looked directly at Tsunade as he said this last bit, who had dropped all pretences of being embroiled in her cards and had dropped them to the table "looking for his replacement".

Cognizing what the old pervert was tacitly conveying, she steered her eyes away from his. "No" she rebuked him flatly. Jiraiya laughed at her "You used to say the same thing when I used to ask you out". Upon seeing her the tick mark appear on her head, he appropriately piped down. Glaring at him, she scoffed "I'm not going to burden myself with that fool's errand. Only an idiot would take it upon them-self. All the deceased Hokage were nothing more than sacrificial lamb for that accursed village. My grandfather and my granduncle- the Shodaime and the Nidaime, both said to be nigh unbeatable sacrificed their lives for it. Even your beloved Yondaime did. The Old Man was this close to dying". Now it was Naruto's turn to lose his cool. Standing up, he fumed at her "Shut up you bitch! You have no right to call the Hokages an idiot. What have you accomplished in life apart from whiling it away on cheap booze and bad gambling skills?".

"Sit down Naruto" Jiraiya ordered. He eventually sat down, albeit reluctantly. "Do not disrespect her. She is the greatest kunoichi alive. Her advancements in medical ninjutsu are unrivalled by anyone bar the Shodaime. During the Second Shinobi War, her skills in taijutsu and medical jutsus were vital to Konoha's victory. Without her we would've lost that war. And Tsunade, you should know better too. At the very least, respect your own flesh and blood. Kami knows what's been swirling around in that head of yours. But for you to so openly disrespect your ancestors in spite knowing everything they did for our village is intolerable" he chastised her.

Tsunade yelled at him "Stop calling it our village. It isn't my village anymore".

Naruto hit back "Yeah Ero-sennin, stop associating our village with her. It would be a stain on our name if someone like her was considered one of us".

Jiraiya boomed at him "Shut your mouth brat. You have no idea who you are talking about! The granddaughter of the First, grandniece of the Second, student of the Third and granddaughter of the daughter of the Uzumaki clan head. She is practically ninja royalty!". The question in person meanwhile gulped down another glass of sake, looking as uninterested in the conversation as one could be.

Naruto huffed "That still doesn't change anything. One of the first things you ever taught me was that it matters not where we come from, what matters is where we choose to go from there. And she just wants to waste the rest of her life on alcohol. So let her be. You become the next Hokage. Obviously, you're much better suited than her".

Tsunade looked at him dangerously "Watch your words brat. Just because I've let you run your mouth for so long doesn't mean you can say anything you wish to". Naruto got right into her face as well "What are you going to do about it, grandma?" he sneered. Jiraiya face-palmed. The gaki just had to go and say that. Tsunade hated being called an old lady, he knew from personal experience. Shizune looked on nervously. hoping her mother-figure wouldn't react like she was almost guaranteed to. Tsunade raised one finger at her fellow blond, "You and me, outside right now. And since I'm feeling generous today I'll only use one finger". The duo stalked outside, leaving Jiraiya and Shizune to saunter behind them.

The two faced off, as still as stone. "You know gaki" Tsunade called out to him, who was still unmoving "I should be ashamed of myself. Accepting challenges from measly genins". That was what worried Shizune, that she _wasn't_ ashamed. Naruto growled at her "I'm not a genin you old hag! Now are you just going to stand there looking like a retard or will you actually fight?". A quite visibly enraged Senju heiress flew at him, one finger outstretched. Naruto barely had time to dodge. _'Shit, the old hag's fast. It's a good thing she's drunk or otherwise I'd be dead meat right now_ _'_ Naruto admitted to himself as he dodged another of her finger strikes, which were causing mass vibrations to bombard his ears. He continued dodging for a while, until his opponent tired herself out and jumped back, possibly due to her alcohol-impaired lung capacity. "Tell me one thing gaki" she spoke in-between pants, "why get so passionate at the mention of the name Hokage?".

Naruto responded fiercely "Because to become Hokage is my dream! All my life, I've been abused and looked down for something out of my control. i want to show people that no matter what, if someone truly sets out to to achieve something, they'll never give up. That they'd die trying before quitting. That is my dream!" he announced. Seeing her slightly distracted, he though of a way to take her down. _'Should I use the normal version, or the advanced one? Better to use the normal, we don't know where her loyalties lie yet; it's best not to reveal all my tricks_ _'_ he determined. Opening up the palm of his right hand, he applied chakra uniformly across it and added the rotational direction. He dashed forward, right hand slightly behind to thrust unto his opponent.

Tsunade heartbeat had risen drastically. _'To become Hokage is my dream'_ rung in her head. The images of Dan and Nawaki would not leave her, and she had to close her eyes. She was brought out of her brief stupor by Jiraiya's voice "Naruto, no!". Looking up at the blond and his right hand, she gasped in alarm. If that jutsu hit her, she shook her head. As a last ditch resort, she slammed the ground beneath them, causing a long, linear crack to form. The Kyubi vessel lost his footing and dived right-hand first into the gap. Just as his hand was about to make contact with the ground, he Kawarami'd away, the deafening boom of the impact of his jutsu ringing in his ears.

Tsunade glared at her teammate "What are you doing teaching him that jutsu? Only you and the Yondaime have the chakra control necessary to execute it".

Naruto got up from the chasm "Oi, quit underestimating me will you you old hag?". The tick reappeared on Tsunade's forehead from the reference to her age. She thought about what the gaki had said and issued an ultimatum "Stop underestimating you, eh? Fine. Tell you what, here take this" Tsunade explored her belongings and threw a heavy-looking scroll at him. The boy caught it with great difficulty, staggering backwards. "Whoa this is heavy" he said to himself. Tsunade smirked at him "Having second thoughts are we? This is an intermediate level Iryō ninjutsu taught to all medic-nins seeking to enter the battlefield. I give you a week. If you can learn it, I'll become you stupid Hokage; and I'll also throw in this" she pointed to the necklace that lay between her bulging breasts.

Shizune gasped at her "Tsunade-sama, but" she was silenced by his glare. Naruto rejected her offer "You can keep your stupid necklace. i don't like taking things from old hags anyway" he was about to continue before he was bonked on the head by his godfather. "You baka, do you even know what you're refuting? That is the necklace of the Shodaime Hokage, as valuable as three mountain fulls of gold". Naruto widened his eyes at listening to this. _'Three mountain fulls of gold! Sugoi! I can buy all the the ramen in the world with that kind of money'_. Naruto salivated at the different types of ramen he could buy as Chibi Naruto performed The Floss in his mindscape as his nine-tailed tenant looked on in distaste. Jiraiya shook his head at his godson's antics "It's all about money with this kid".

Naruto looked at her, eyes brimming with determination "Alright then, I accept your challenge. Be ready to get shown down by a little kid, Baa-chan!" he taunted her, enjoying the livid look on her face. He ran away as she chased him, while Jiraiya and Shizune could only look on in chagrin at their respective partner's annoyance. "You know something Jiraiya-sama" Shizune turned around to look at him, a smile on her face "I haven't seen anyone get her this ticked off since you". Jiraiya chuckled heartily at her words "Naruto has a way of getting people passionate about things". The two shared a genuine bout of laughter before Jiraiya requested something of her "Shizune, I'm going to have to ask you for a favour. Normally I would do it myself, but some things just require a feminine touch. I would really appreciate it if you could find Naruto and tell her everything about Tsunade. When I mean everything, I do mean _everything._ Including Dan and Nawaki". Shizune looked at him solemnly, before politely bowing in acceptance.

Jiraiya wondered around the town, before discovering his former teammate in a ramen bar. He entered and sat next to her "You're not in a bar this late at night". She turned to him and grumbled something inaudible before turning back to her grub. Jiraiya called for a miso ramen and addressed her "You're not planning on accepting whatever deal he's laid out to you, are you? You know you can't trust him". Tsunade shot him a look "And I can trust your village?".

"Maybe not, but you can trust me, can't you" he answered, giving her a warm smile. She scoffed at him "Your manly charms might've worked before, but not anymore you old pervert". His warm smile grew into a huge grin "At least you admit to it". A scowl formed on her face, warning him to shut up. After receiving his ramen, Jiraiya attempted another stab at conversation "He certainly reminds you of his father, doesn't he?".

"Yes. But don't try to fool me. I know you tagged him alongside you because you too see Nawaki and Dan within him".

"It's quite visible, isn't it? But that's not the only reason he's here. We anticipated Orochimaru would try to coax the greatest healer alive into his side. And flanking him would be that slimy fledgling of his-Yakushi Kabuto. Naruto at his current level, while unable to outright over-power him, would more than hold his own. The gaki is the youngest ANBU lieutenant ever". Tsunade almost barfed out her prawns ramen. She looked at him in alarm "ANBU lieutenant! He's only twelve!".

"Leave that all aside for a moment and listen to me. Whatever dreams he's shown to you are false. They're dead, and nothing can change that". Tsunade would've slapped the man if she were not so intoxicated from all the sake earlier from the day. "He will betray you, like he always has. I know you want to see them again, I do. But you're going to have to stop running away from everything and accept the truth for once" he edge his hand near hers to comfort her, but she pulled away at the last minute. "Shut up you old pervert" she hissed at him, her eyes watery.

Jiraiya sighed "Fine, I'll stop. Just know this one thing; if you betray Konoha-I'll kill you!" his face had morphed into a savage display of rage and promise, just as she remembered it from when they went to battle in their youth. Tsunade "tscked" in reply before calling for a another bowl of ramen, signalling the end of their discussion. Whilst leaving, Jiraiya revealed something to her "Oh Hime, you do know that your grandfather and granduncle have been revived?". Viewing the flabbergasted look erupt across her visage, he elucidated "Our teammate perfected the Second's reanimation kinjutsu and revived them to try and destroy the village. Fortunately they turned against him. They have aligned themselves with Konohakagure no Sato. Just thought you ought to know that". Moving extremely close to her, he whispered into her ear "See you around Hime" he winked at her and left. Had he turned around, he would've seen the pink dust settle on her cheeks. She wondered why she hadn't pushed him away. The way his succulent, baritone voice had wantonly tickled her ear, she was _this close_ to leaning in. If she were honest to herself, that was almost like... _chocolate for her ears._ The last time he was this close to her... She shook her head , trying to rid the images dancing around in it. Besides, they'd promised not to speak of it ever again.

Deciding some sake would solve everything, she slapped a big fat bundle of notes on the desk and made her way to the nearest bar.

 **Sorry for not being active for so long guys. I've been drowning in submissions and presentations. I'll try to post another chapter before the winter break ends. Will need feedback from everyone, so go comment. It always helps when I'm maligned with writer's block to have any helpful suggestions; and it is nice in general to know that people are liking your story. It motivates you to write more. As always, constructive criticisms are appreciated. Sayonara!**


	7. Chapter 7-Hidden in the ROOT

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

The three previous Hokage waited in their office, awaiting the arrival of the copy-nin. The nin in person showed up on the window. "You've been spending too much time with Jiraiya Kakashi-kun" Sarutobi reprimanded him. The one-eyed an shrugged at him before asking "And what is the other mission I have?".

Hiruzen smoked from his pipe "Your peripheral mission objective is to infiltrate the Temple of Sand".

Kakashi looked at him in slight confusion "I thought that was merely an old wive's myth narrated to little children to get them to sleep".

The Nidaime responded to this "And where do myths come from? Reality. I too am dubious of the existence of such a location, but it is worth checking out, especially considering history".

"I don't think I understand what you mean, Nidaime-sama".

The Shodaime swirled his chair to face him "Back when we were rounding up all the biju, the One-Tails was the only one we could not reach. At the inaugural Kage summit, the Shodaime Kazekage unveiled that he had control of it. Legend has it the beast was trapped with some sort of high-level fuinjutsu technique, which should only be possible for the greatest of seal masters, and apart from the Uzumaki there have been far and few across time".

Kakashi considered the man's words "So you're trying to say the Uzumaki helped Suna capture the Ichibi?"

Tobirama opened his eyes "The Uzumaki are not the only prominent seal masters. Suna has two of them- the Honoured Siblings Chiyo and Ebizo. They were said to have assisted the original vessel of the One-Tails: a priest named Bunpuku seal it within himself. By the time of the third holder, they had grown considerably old and weak, which is presumably why there is such a shoddy seal containing the beast".

Kakashi again asked questions "But Nidaime-sama, wouldn't such a structure be sensed by you?"

"That is exactly the issue" Sarutobi spoke "it has never been detected by anyone. It has only subsisted as a fable that has stood the test of time. Even now, the citizens of Sunagakure believe in it's existence".

Kakashi raised his sole visible eyebrow "So you want me penetrate that which does not exist? That which has never even been detected, even by a sensor the caliber of Lord Second. And even if I do manage to stumble across it, it will in all likelihood be heavily fortified and defended".

Hashirama nodded "Precisely". Kakashi saluted them and was about to shun-shin away before he was halted by Tobirama "Wait. Here, take this" he tossed a scroll at Kakashi, who opened it to find an intricate seal."Jiraiya and I have devised it by utilising the seal you placed on your student as a template. It is a technique that arrests the influx of negative emotions whenever the user taps into the power of the Cursed Seal. We are confident that it will negate Orochimaru's sway over the individual".

Kakashi figured out what the man was trying to say "You want me to use this on Anko?". The three men nodded at him. "Why not Sasuke" he quizzed them. The Shodaime spoke on their behalf "Let's just say that Anko-chan is more...stable than young Sasuke-kun". Kakashi wondered for a minute if the word the Shodaime was looking for was _'expendable'_. He bowed at the three Hokages and jumped out through the window. Behind him, the Shodaime appeared at the window and reminded him "Don't forget about to pop in before you leave for your mission!".

Sarutobi relit his pipe "Well, that went well".

Tobirama turned his gaze to him "It seems he's figured it all out".

Outside, Kakashi moved to his house by foot, trying to look underneath the underneath of what he had just been told. _'They want me to try sealing her cursed mark in foreign borders, so if there is any collateral damage it is not of Konoha's. And since we're going to a place that has just ceded defeat to us, there will be no political repercussions from such an eventuality. My my, these Senju brothers really are something else'._

 _One day later_

There was a sea of emotions present within the crowd assembled at the arena. In a few minutes, right in front of their very eyes, a man was to be executed. Why specifically, most of them were not aware- simply that he had committed terrible crimes against the state. The man in question was brought into view, or at least what was left of him. He had a stump of an arm, and one eye was hollow. There were numerous lacerations along his arm, and he had a sickly pale tinge to his skin. His remaining eye remained solemn, un-moving and staring at the ground as if his life depended upon it. He was prevented from moving by a dense networkof bared chains nailed to his body. To his credit the man was did not flinch. High in the Kage box, the Shodaime and the Sandaime sat, watching on the proceedings.

A fair-haired man strode into view, wielding a wicked looking sword as if it were a child's plaything. With eyes as red as a demon's, he glanced around the coliseum once before setting his eyes on the cripple of a man laying before him. He twirled the sword around in his fingers, the cool metal sliding against the rough texture of his battle-hardened skin, providing him a rare succour.

He placed his head on the man's neck. "Danzo Shimura, former head of the supposedly dismantled cell ROOT, you are hereby sentenced to die for your numerous crimes against the village of Konohakagure no Sato. You are to perish at the hand of I, Tobirama Senju the Nidaime Hokage of Konohakagure no Sato; with the blessings of the Shodaime Hokage Hashirama Senju and Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. Any last words?".

The chained man looked up at his former master with a sneer "Death...is only the beginning". _'There is one secret that I have not let anyone in on. One secret that even you sensei, failed to unearth. And one day, when I will be reborn, I will wield it's power...the power of the Rinnegan'._

Tobirama looked at his former student, dispelling from his mind any image of the bumbling student he had once watched proudly grow into a feared warrior. With a face and heart of stone he spoke "Fine. At the noon of the 14th of the seventh month, I hereby sentence you to die" he raised his sword and swung it back down, cleanly slicing through the man's nape. His head went bouncing down the body like a football, bloodied with its own blood. The rest of his corpse toppled to the ground, no longer supported by a conscious. The crowd gave no reaction, all battle-scarred shinobi themselves. One by one the crowd dissipated, whilst the two Hokage stayed where the were. The First lowered his head in respect, whilst the Third removed his hat and smoked the fallen man's favourite brand in remembrance. They were joined by the Second, whose eyes had darkened enough to resemble a swirling tempest which his rain surely was. Flashing his eyes across the dead man's remains one last time, he tightened his jaw and gripped the edge of the podium to rein in his turbulent emotions. His brother laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, offering him silent comfort. The three nodded at each other, before shun-shining away for some peace. After their withdrawal, the masked ANBU swooped in to collect the bits of a once dreaded shinobi.

 _T_ _anzaku Gai_

The light of the late dawn struck Naruto's closed eyelids like daggers, and he was soon forced to give up in a failing effort to stay asleep. He finally opened his eyes and found himself in the middle of literal nowhere. He remembered the events of the last couple of days, spent by furiously trying to master a medical jutsu. So far, there had not been much progress. His chakra control, while above the norm for a jinchurriki, was nowhere near close enough to be able to perform medical jutsu of this proficiency. He gritted his teeth and way through the ritual of cleaning himself up, using the toiletries provided to him by his godfather, who was around checking up on his spy network.

The morning after the meeting with the third Sannin, Naruto decided to camp out in the wilderness outside the small hamlet. It would allow him to practise his already near-perfected survival skills and also allow him to keep an eye out for the snake summoner Orochimaru and his right hand man Yakushi Kabuto. Once he freshened up, he did some stretching exercises and made a few clones, all of which started chanting the word of the scroll, as he strolled into the city to replenish his now depleted supplies.

Naruto returned an hour later to see most of his clones laying on the ground, seeming disorientated and dazed. He sighed and dispelled them bringing out a fresh batch as he processed the in-rush of memories. He shrugged to himself "Well, at least they didn't blow each other up this time". Since there was a shortage of injured people around, he'd fabricated a training regime where he would form clones and would go through the contents of the scroll on a daily basis before performing the jutsu on one of the clones. By the end of the first day, Naruto had memorised the hand seals well enough to be able to do them in his sleep. His roadblock was applying the perfect amount of chakra to heal wounds, instead of exploding them. He groaned, he was so going to lose the bet.

 _Later that night_

Naruto slumped against a tree, breathing heavily. He'd been training almost non-stop and still had only reached halfway in terms of fully mastering the jutsu. His thoughts shifted back to the Slug Sannin. After his spar with the old hag, Shizune had sought him out and told him all about Tsunade's past and her seemingly careless attitude. Naruto had listened silently and had also kept his opinions to himself. He accepted that the woman had suffered a lot in life, but this was the world of shinobi- not professional ballet. There was not one shinobi who hadn't suffered something similar to what she had, yet they still saw fit to continue fulfilling their duty. Some chose this line due to a loss in the first place. But to quit the ninja lifestyle due to a loss...Naruto didn't know how to feel about that.

He was brought back to the world of the living by the groans of a clone he had apparently forgotten to dispel. He rubbed his head and dispelled it, clutching his head at the intake of information. _'It seems this one had a particularly bad experience. Got his ear spliced by another. So much for a healing jutsu"._ Naruto looked down at his right hand, slightly charred due to the side-effect of the jutsu. His brain felt slightly woozy and he cursed himself. Three days were already over and he was still nowhere near close to mastering the jutsu. "I'm so gonna lose" he whined as his mind slipped into sleep.

 _One day later, Nara clan compound_

Nara Shikamaru was on his house's rooftop, lazily watching the clouds waft by in peace. He closed his eyes in solace when his mother's shrill voice rang around the household "Shikamaru! Come down here right now! There's someone here waiting for you!". He groaned and turned on his side, too lethargic to go anywhere. As if reading his mind, his mother's yells started again "Nara Shikamaru! Don't give me that lazy attitude. Now come down here before I have to come up there! It's rude to keep guests waiting!". He huffed in indignation, his cloud-gazing session enjoyed. He slid down the outside of the house using the plumbing, and slipped back inside through an open window.

His mother nagged at him "Why can't you Nara men use the staircase every once in a while. That's what it's there for, you know. Let me guess, it's too troublesome? You Nara men wouldn't even wear your underwear unless I got on your backsides!".

"Mom!" Shikamaru protested, alluding to the the mask-exhibiting ANBU standing awkwardly next to her. "Let him listen too! If humiliation is what it takes you to man up, so be it! I don't suppose he has any problem, does he?!" Yoshino Nara glowered threateningly at the tall masked man standing next to her. Not knowing what to say, partially due to being extremely weirded out and partially out of fear, he shook his head like a dumb mule.

Satisfied with his answer, the Nara matriarch shifted her attention back to her son, "Now dear. Listen to what this fine gentlemen has to say" she directed his attention to the person next to her. The ANBU straightened up before reciting "Genin Nara. You are requested at the Hokage's office as soon as possible. You are to arrive as soon as possible. It has been informed to me that this is of the utmost importance". The ANBU spared one last frightful look at what was his freak of a mother before shun-shining away in relief.

His mother turned to him, hands on her hips "So, what are you waiting for? Get out right now!".

Shikamaru rolled his eyes "What a way to show your love to your only son". His mother did not seem amused and waited for him to leave, unmoving from her position. Sighing, he shoved his hands in defeat and made way for the door. He opened the front door and exited, leaving the door unclosed. As he jumped for the rooftops, he heard his mom's shrieks echo around the entire clan compound "Close the door you lazy bum!".

 _Hokage Tower_

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled from his smoke pipe in comfort, relishing in the familiar tobacco fragrance. Behind him, the Shodaime sat on the window, inking something onto a blank parchment; almost reminding him of Jiraiya were it not for this man's dark hair and serene expression as opposed to his student's giggling mug as he pictured his smut. The Nidaime stood in the corner of the room, aloof as always and barely visible as usual. He heard a knock on his door and called the person in. He was greeted by the bored expression of the Nara heir. "Ah Shikamaru-kun, I'm glad you could make it on such short notice. Thank you for coming" he spoke with a twinkle in his voice and a slight sarcasm in his voice. The pineapple haired youth merely rolled his eyes in response.

Sarutobi placed away his pipe and placed his hands on his desk, "Seeing as you're so enthused" again using that knowing smirk and teasing tone "let's talk about your promotion". Shikamaru had to wait for a minute for the elder man's words to register in his lazed brain. When lightning struck, he jerked his head upwards, gaping at the Sandaime. Hiruzen chuckled at the boy's reaction. "So promotion is the way to get your attention. For your tactical nous and brilliant planning in the response to the joint invasion of Suna and Oto I Hiruzen Sarutobi, acting Kage of Konohakagure no Sato hereby award you the rank of chunin. Congratulations".

Seeing the boy's face morph into that of a fish's out of water, he took out his chunin flak jacket and placed it on his desk. Once the boy regained his senses, he took his property and gave it a once-over. "Am I the only one promoted, Sandaime-sama?" the now-chunin questioned as he tried on his jacket.

The Shodaime answered "Hardly, my boy. We've elevated three others as well. In fact, two of them were supposed to show up about now. They're"

"Here" the Nidaime finished that sentence. "Call it a coincidence, but somehow both entered the building simultaneously just after you, and have been waiting outside ever since. Sarutobi called them inside to reveal Shino Aburame and Neji Hyuga. They nodded at everyone in greeting. It was the Nidaime's turn to break the egg "Congratulations, Neji-san and Shino-san. For your efforts in holding off Oto's Kin-Gin brothers and former B-ranked missing nins of Iwa long enough to evacuate the civilians, and for your flawless handling of the evacuation of the civilian hospital respectively we promote you to the rank of chunin. Now, I believe there is one last addition to our chunin forces" and he said so with a hint of spite, as if not fully agreeing to it.

Shikamaru noticed this and evaluated the situation before him _'The way Nidaime-sama looked at Shodaime-sama whilst revealing a fourth new chunin, it seems this individual was a controversial choice. The only person from our age group besides us who has all the skills required of a chunin is Naruto. But promoting him to chunin would basically amount to nothing- he's already an ANBU lieutenant. The only person apart from us who has the raw power would be'_ he raised an eyebrow as he deciphered the key.

It was Shino who revealed both their deductions "Uchiha-san". The just named entity swooped in from the other window, his bloodshot eyes and his pasty skin affording him an insidious demeanour. Sarutobi muttered in annoyance "Jiraiya's ruining everyone now". The Shodaime discreetly gave the newcomer a once over before smiling at him "Congratulation Sasuke-kun. For your commendable valour and fearlessness in chasing down and stalling the jinchurikki of the Ichibi we grant you the position of chunin. Here you go" the Shodaime handed over the chunin jacket to the 'last' Uchiha who took it by it's collar as if holding a dog by the scruff of its neck and placed it onto the Hokage's desk.

The Nidaime stepped out of the shadows, "Now that all the niceties have been exchanged, we're about to get down to serious business. Chunin promotions are announced by your respective jounin commanders. The reason you're here is much more important than a mere promotion in rank. As you all have probably heard in the last few days, Danzo Shimura of ROOT was found guilty of collaborating with enemies of Konohakagure no Sato. As such, he was publicly guillotined yesterday noon. Danzo, whilst having conducted on unlawful activities, also headed an important part of our setup- ROOT. I was the one who had originally bequeathed that role to him whilst appointing Saru as Hokage. ROOT is still vital to our village's security. Therefore, I have decided to reform ROOT".

It was Shino who asked "Then what are we doing here, with all due respect? We've only just been promoted to chunin, surely we don't have the skills or mentality required to join the organisation".

Hashirama agreed with him "You are quite right Shino-kun. You don't have what it takes to be ROOT...yet. But we've decided to give this generation a head start on the others. You all have been chosen because you all boast a unique trait which qualifies you for the role you are to be assigned. You may not think the same way now, but once we're through with you you will".

Neji quizzed him "Are our clans aware of this?".

Sarutobi removed his pipe "Indeed they are, Neji-kun. We have conferred with all your clan heads and parents or your caretaker" his eyes whisked over Sasuke's "and we have been given the green light for all of you". Neji nodded his thanks at the elderly man.

Sasuke looked on at the proceeding with indifference. The Shodaime noticed this and made an effort to involve the sharingan-bearer. "Would you all like to know your positions? How about we start with you first Sasuke-kun?". He looked at the dark-haired man in irritation, not appreciating being singled out. He crossed his arms across his front and muttered "Fine".

Tobirama announced their roles "You all are to be apprenticed to a captain of ROOT; in the hopes that one day you all will be able to take over their responsibilities. Uchiha Sasuke, you are assigned to Captain Kakashi Hatake, head of our Combat Division" the man popped into view, greeting them all with a simple "Yo!" and dropped a note at Sasuke's feet, popping back away. "Aburame Shino, your mentor is Aburame Torune, administrator of the Tracking Division" a ghost-like man appeared, almost all his face bar his mouth disguised by a balaclava. "Hyuga Neji, you will be trained by the head of our Espionage Division- Hyuga Hiro" the aforementioned Hyuga materialised and stood motionless, "And finally, Nara Shikamaru is to be indoctrinated by Nara Shikaji: head of our Counter-Intelligence Division". An bored looking man surfaced at the mention of his name, looking infinitely bored. Shikamaru recognised him as his father's cousin, who was said to rival his father in terms of intelligence.

"These four individuals report to me" the Nidaime declared, "until a suitable long-term replacement is elected".

Shikamaru asked him "What do you mean, Nidaime-sama? Are you planning to go somewhere?"

The red-eyed Senju imparted "Yes- to the graveyard. This body, while not an edo tensei, is still not mine. It has passed away, and is only tethered to the living world by my spirit. My spirit can only live for so long without my body. In time, it will eventually fade".

Neji was confused by the answer "But I thought that's why your created the edo tensei; by sacrificing one soul you could revive another".

Tobirama concurred with him "Indeed I did. But there was one thing Orochimaru did not account for when he performed the ritual- the difference in strength between the fallen and the revived. These bodies we currently reside in are quite fragile compared to our own, and as such to maintain our original level we have to constantly reinforce them with chakra. I was a fool to have invented that jutsu. Only later did I realise that the dead never truly brought back".

Hashirama uplifted the mood "Alright then, now that that's settled you all can start. Best to begin quickly and build a good rapport with your leaders as soon as possible. Chop chop!" he dismissed them. They all left quickly, Sasuke picking the scroll left to him and dashing out the window.

On his way, he raged. _'How dare he upstage me! It's bad enough he didn't pay much attention when I was a genin, but as an ANBU Head too! This is just too much!'._

His rage enabled him to reach his quarters rapidly. In a rare case of outward display, he slammed the door in frustration and growled "This village is just holding me back! At this rate I'll never be able to kill any one of Naruto or Itachi!".

Outside his residence, the Sound Four nodded at each other, all wordlessly agreeing on one thing- _'It was time to strike'._

 _Yamanaka Flower Shop_

The bell to the entrance chimed and Ino sang her memorised lines "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. What can I do for you to-Oh it's just you Forehead".

The pink-haired kunoichi retorted "Shut up Ino-pig". Ino raised an eyebrow at this _'She seems more snappy than usual today. Wonder what's got her panties in a twist?_. "Oi Forehead, what's wrong?".

Sakura sighed- Ino always did know how to read her like a book. She confessed "I'm just scared, you know. I mean, the Naruto I thought I knew isn't who he really is, and even Sasuke-kun has changed a lot". Seeing her former best friend's dejected face, Ino realised there must be a lot the pinky wanted to get off her chest. Seeing it was around noon, Ino took off her work apron and invited Sakura for lunch.

"Come on Forehead, my mom's made ramen. Let's eat together". Sakura nodded and followed Ino into her home. She took in the cosy atmosphere of the house, having been years since she'd last entered it. She remembered sadly, her and Ino's past friendship. The two of them were as thick as thieves. But in their mutual conquest for Sasuke's heart, they'd forsaken their friendship. Sakura found herself regretting the loss of their bond.

Ino handed her a a ramen cup and settled opposite her on the table. "So" Ino asked as she sipped her ramen "how have you been?".

"I've been better" Sakura sighed, knowing Ino well enough to recognise she was deliberately steering to small talk first.

Ino looked at her from the rim of her bowl "How's your training been going on?".

Sakura bit her lip "It hasn't".

Ino looked at her in surprise "But the rebuilding efforts stopped two days ago. You should've had at least one session. My team had ours yesterday, Hinata's team had theirs today".

Sakura explained to her "Well, we technically don't have a team anymore. Naruto's been gone on a top secret mission with Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin for the last week. And Kakashi-sensei's going on a mission tonight-he sent one of his messenger nins. And I haven't seen Sasuke-kun since we all met at your house last week".

Ino admonished her "So?! Haven't you been doing any doing any solo training? Seriously Sakura! When will you grow up?".

Sakura looked taken aback. Since when was Ino so passionate about anything not related to Sasuke-kun? Sakura retorted "You forget Ino, that you have done no better than me. It is only due to your clan heritage that you are where you are right now".

Ino glared at her "So what?! That was in the past. Ever since the invasion I've been trying to catch up on all the years I wasted dressing up for Sasuke".

"Don't talk about Sasuke-kun like that! You have no idea what he must be feeling like! Have you even tried talking to him?".

"Oh and you do?" Ino sneered "Besides, I'm done with him. I know you don't want to hear this but he's nothing more than an arrogant, self-loving prick. You saw how he reacted to being sidelined by Naruto. And the fact that he hasn't sought you out even once since that day should tell you that he doesn't even think of you as a teammate, let alone a potential love interest".

"That's the thing Ino. I haven't done anything to be acknowledged by Sasuke-kun. On our team, I've always been the weakest. Even before we found about Naruto's true self, I've always done nothing but impede the team back".

A light bulb switched on in Ino's head. "Eureka! That's it! Listen Forehead, if all of your teammates are so big and strong, then you be good at something they're not. I mean there must be something they're not good at. It would be impossible for even the Hokage to not have weaknesses. So find something you're teammates are not good at, and master that".

For the first time in a long tie, Sakura's face lit up with a genuine smile. "You know Ino-pig, sometimes you can be useful. Now all that's left is to actually know all of my team's strengths and weaknesses". Ino winced at that last statement. It reflected really poorly on her friend that she still did not truly understand her team. Sakura's smile too dimmed at the prospect of having to talk to Naruto. Ino asked concernedly "What's wrong Sakura? Just now you were so joyful?".

Sakura dusted off the hem of her shirt "It's just that I haven't had the chance to speak to Naruto since the preliminary match-up of the third round. And a lot has changed since then. I don't know what to say and what his reaction to be like".

Ino shrugged at her "I guess all anyone can do now is just apologise, and really mean it. We did treat him pretty bad; but then again some of the times he was plain asking for it". Sakura smiled at her and thanked her for the food. Ino accompanied her outside, and just as Sakura as about to leave; Ino told her to wait. She came back hiding something behind her back. "Here" she presented a yellow rose to Sakura. Sakura gasped; a yellow rose was a sign of friendship. She tearily accepted the flower and hugged her. "Now now Forehead, don't get all weepy on me" Ino joked, though Sakura could feel the girl's own tears stain her shirt.

"Shut up Ino-pig" she grumbled. They broke apart and Ino kissed her on the cheek.

"See you later babe" Ino greeted. Sakura nodded happily and left.

On her way back home, Sakura decided to herself: _'Sasuke-kun isn't the only one I want to protect. I also want to protect my friends, my family and Naruto and Kakashi-sensei'._

 _Konohakagure Prison_

Temari no Sabaku hunched against the hard granite wall, clutching her mother's photograph for comfort. She had initially been fearing for her and her brothers' lives; though the past week had been very peculiar in that sense. She had expected to be hung upside down and get poked with sharp objects, as masked men would attempt to break her. Instead, she had not been harmed at all, physically, mentally, emotionally or... _sexually_. She had heard of captured enemy kunoichi being ravaged and brutalised before; and Temari quivered each time she thought about it. She had not seen a hair of either Kankuro or Gaara. She feared more for her smallest brother, due to his jinchurikki status alongside the fact that he had unleashed the most carnage out of them. Every day, she would receive two solid meals; nothing more, nothing less. There was a small tub in the corner, and her cell was manned at all times by two ANBU; most likely kunoichi at that. In here, she could not muster an ounce of her chakra- a feat she surmised was due to concealed chakra immobilisers surrounding her.

She had once visited Suna's own version of holding towers, and they were nothing like these. Compared to back home, Konoha's jail seemed much more..fancy. Temari suspected her detention quarters had something to do with the fact she was the spawn of the Kazekage. For once, she was thankful to have the same blood as Rasa's. Her whole life the man had treated her on the verge of apathy; and had rarely acknowledged her mere existence.

She looked at her mother's soft smile and held back tears. She couldn't remember much of her mother except her warm smile and her gentle hands as she would rock Temari in her hands and sing gentle lullabies to her. Looking down, she let the tears flow down. Temari would never admit it aloud, but she missed her home. The first thing they taught you was shinobi must never reveal their emotions, kunoichi especially since women were seen as more emotionally fragile and susceptible. _'Focus Temari'_ she scolded herself _'What would Kaa-san think?'._

The Suna royal heard the echo of footsteps and quickly wiped her eyes dry, slipping her mother's photo into her blouse. **(AN: I don't know what to call that white thing she wears, so let's just call it a blouse)** She saw a purple haired woman come near her cell and provide some documentation to the guards. The guards scrutinised the papers severally, before nodding wearily at her. They stepped aside and let her near the cell. She looked at her as if she were a specimen in a zoo; and Temari suddenly felt exposed. She wrapped her hands around herself and tried to clearly make out the woman's features, which was difficult in the dimmed light.

The woman considered her a few more moments before going through what Temari clearly saw as hand-seals. She flung herself to the opposite side of the cell as the gate was blasted open by "Katon: Endan". Temari felt the hair singed off her arms as the intense heat saturated the room. The purple haired woman, now fully visible handed her a thumbs up and commended her "Impressive for a genin, that too with your chakra being sucked out for the past week".

Temari glowered at her, insulted at being misnamed a genin. She already held the ability of a chunin. Rubbing her arm, she scowled at the mad lady "Are you crazy?! That could've killed me". She remembered her as the proctor of the second stage of the chunin exams-Special Jonin Anko Mitarashi.

The woman shrugged at her, which just angered Temari even more. "Why are you even here?" she scowled at Anko.

She threw a manuscript at her. Teari unfolded it to locate the stamp of the Hokage's office at the top. She gulped, could it be orders to kill her. Her heart pounded against her rib-cage as she read on-wards. When she reached the end of the document, she took a moment to process what she had just read. _'Official orders that the progeny of the Yondaime Hokage be deported back to Sunagakure no Sato, as per the terms of the treaty signed by both parties a fortnight ago. Further instructions to be imparted to the individuals upon their entry to their rightful home. Signed, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konohakagure no Sato'._

The contents of the letter were bizarre bordering on insane. What madness had conflicted the Hokage for him to have accepted such a condition. Temari's intuition told her that a lot was more was being hidden from her than revealed. But there was nothing she could do. She stood up and accepted her battle fan from the elder woman, secretly feeling a lot more secure now that her cherished weapon was in her possession. She was led out of the now razed cell by the Tokubestu Jonin, who stopped to chat with the masked guards outside. "Couldn't you just have used the keys" one of the guards deadpanned.

The Snake Mistress laughed at her "Now where would be the fun in that? Besides, I have a reputation to uphold".

The other sentry advised her "As does he". She pointed to a strange looking man with gravity defying silver hair that seemed on the verge of collapse. His face was well-hidden by a slanted hitiate and a mouth mask, creating an aura of mystery. He greeted them all with a simple "Yo!" before stepping aside to unveal the remaining spawn of the latest ruler of the Sand.

"Gaara! Kankuro" Temari exclaimed. She rushed toward them, bringing them into a tight hug. Nothing mattered in this moment; not Gaara's aversion to human contact nor Kankuro's extreme ticklishness at his hips, all that mattered was that they were together. "Kankuro pressed his forehead against hers "Peace, sister". Temari nodded him, breaking away. Gaara had remained as he was prior, not extending a hand of comfort to his siblings. He gazed at his siblings as if seeing them in a new light. Slowly, his well-constructed mark broke down as he nodded his head at his brother and sister, conveying his unsaid feelings to them.

Kakashi chimed in "Well, now that your little family reunion is over, I'd like to head out soon. Suna isn't next door, and I plan to arrive there as soon as possible. Now, I've been told you're all aware of the route back to Suna. And I've already sealed two weeks worth of supplies with me. Not that it will take more than two days, I just like to stay prepared. And don't think of trying to escape, I assure you that will not end nicely. So come on, off we go!". Internally, Kakashi sweatdropped at himself. _'I'm beginning to sound like Guy. Yikes!._ The rest of the entourage looked on, clearly not impressed with his antics. He rubbed his head, and signalled them to follow him as ran out of the full speed.

To everyone's surprise, Gaara involved himself in the conversation for the first time "And what of our security? Two measly ninjas hardly seems enough protection for the children of a Kage".

"Mah mah Gaara-san. You think too little of us and two much of yourselves. Besides, we've already thought about it. Your village elders Chiyo and Ebizo have sent us some self-sustaining puppets resembling us. As the name suggests, they function by their own ability and don't require a source of control. They have assured us of their battle capabilities. We are fully confident they will divert any unwanted attention. And if they can't...well we'll cross that bridge when we reach it".

Temari sighed, it was going to be a long and mentally taxing journey home

 **So that's that. A new chapter before the end of the winter break. I know everyone's favourite future-Hokage isn't too involved in this chapter, since I wanted to incorporate some of the other major characters into the story. I may or may not have rushed this one up a bit (Hey, cut a guy some slack would ya, I've got midterms in two days). Now that I think of it, somebody murder me! I am so going to fail! Anyways, back to the topic at hand. I'm sure my Newtonian readers will have picked up on the characters I created. Here're their Bingo Book entries:**

 **Name: Hiro Hyuga**

 **Age: 26**

 **Affliation: Konohakagure no Sato**

 **Rank: A**

 **Taijutsu: High-A Rank**

 **Genjutsu: B-Rank**

 **Ninjutsu: A-Rank**

 **Elemental affinities: Earth, Fire and Water**

 **Special Notes: Do not engage in taijutsu unless backup is available. Extremely adept at the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Said to have to inherited the Byakugan Dojutsu to the highest degree in his generation**

 **Bounty: 500,000 ryu**

* * *

 **Name: Shikaji Nara**

 **Age: 40**

 **Rank: A**

 **Taijutsu: High B-Rank**

 **Genjutsu: Low A-Rank**

 **Ninjutsu: High A-Rank**

 **Elemental affinities: Fire, Lightning and Earth**

 **Special notes: Do not engage in a prolonged battle. Previously second-in-line for the leadership of the Nara clan. Master strategist and uses a high array of shadow-related jutsu**

 **Bounty: 700,000 ryu**

* * *

 **I'll clear up the ages of everyone. Naruto's generation are all 13, Temari is 15. Minato would've been in his mid-30s and all the clan heads are in their early-40s. The Sannin are in their early-50s and Sarutobi is in his late-60s. And another thing. Since I've practically drilled into your minds that I've exams, I won't be updating for another fortnight or so. So hope this suffices.**


	8. Chapter 8- Reunion of the Sannin!

**Author's Note: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters**

"WHAT?!" Temari shrieked. The Suna council were almost thrown off their feet from the distortions caused by her voice. She glared daggers at each and every single one of them. "Tell me" she growled, "that is all just a despicable nightmare and one of you is going to pinch me and I'll wake up". Seeing everyone's timid expressions, she smashed her hand onto a table in annoyance.

"Boy am I glad it's not me that hand is going to be touching" Kakashi muttered under his breath. Anko smirked at his joke, even more so when she realised the double meaning, always one to appreciate an innuendo.

Baki tried to appease her "Now now Temari-chan" he flinched at the glare she gave him.

"Don't call me that anymore" she warned, and he meekly nodded.

Lady Chiyo had had enough of this nonsense and stepped in "Enough! We've tolerated your childish antics but not anymore! You are a kunoichi of Sunagakure no Sato. It is your duty to sacrifice yourself for the betterment of your village. And as the child of a Kage, you are expected to understand better than most".

"But I'm only 15!" she protested.

The other Honorable Sibling asked "When was the first time you killed a person?"

"When I was 12" she answered.

"See" Ebizo pointed "if you can take a life when you're 12, you can certainly start a new one when you're 15".

Kakashi whistled "Now that was a low blow". All of a sudden two dozen pairs of eyes were on him, and he brought out IchaIcha: Tactics to conceal himself from their gazes. That only served to mount him under further scrutiny as all the kunoichi, Anko included glared murderously at him. Fortunately he was too wrapped up in his own lust-fuelled heaven to notice.

Chiyo coughed to recall everyone's attention. "Despite Kakashi-san's most unnecessary distraction, what my brother says is correct. You are a ninja and thus cannot be judged by civilian standards. Indeed 18 is the norm to get married for kunoichi, you are not much younger than that".

"Atleast hear us out in our entirety" Ebizo requested. "You are refusing without being aware of all the details".

Temari huffed her breath "Fine. But if I'm not convinced I'm not agreeing". Chiyo nodded to her, despite knowing very well that the girl had no say in the matter; the treaty had already been agreed to. Ebizo explained to her how they had no option but to initiate a new alliance with Konoha, emphasising particularly on Suna's poor economic condition and public standing with the Wind Daimyo following the Invasion, alongside the aggressive activity of Iwa troops on their shared border.

Temari resistance began to crumble. She initially assumed sge was just being bartered like a bargaining chip, but now that she truly understood the plight of her village, she didn't know what to say. Yes she was a kunoichi of Suna, and she was proud of that. But marriage? At the age of 15. Temari didn't have a lot of memories of her mother, but her most cherished memory was when her mother had told her about marriage:

 _Flashback_

 _Temari was sitting in her room, cleaning her toy fan. She had received at as a gift for her second birthday the day before. She got up, gripping the miniature device with her small hands and started swinging it around. She tried to spin too hard and ended up falling down, twisting her ankle. "Ow my foot hurts" she whined._

 _Karura was in her kitchen, preparing the food for the night. All of a sudden she heard a crashing sound and the soft crying of a girl. She immediately dropped what she was doing and rushed to her daughter's room. She saw her firstborn crumpled on the floor, nursing her ankle and weeping. She quickly dropped down to her daughter and took her into her arms. She hugged her and consoled her "Ssh Temari-chan. It's alright, mama's with you"._

 _"My foot hurts Kaa-chan" Temari complained, crying into her mother's bosom._

 _Karura coddled her daughter, ignoring the slight discomfort to her womb. She re-positioned her daughter so she was on her lap. "Tell me where does it hurt?"._

 _Temari pointed to her ankle, and she saw her Kaa-chan do some weird thing with her hand and then press it to her ankle. She gasped in surprise at the green light, and then relaxed as the pain in her leg slowly went away. She looked at her mother in awe "How did you do that Kaa-chan?". Karura giggled at her daughter's expression. "I was a medic ninja. It was my job to protect and look after your father"._

 _"Sugoi. You must be very strong to look after Tou-san. I mean, he is the Ka-Kaz"_

 _"Kazekage" Karura helped her daughter out. She kissed the top of her head._

 _Temari looked up at her with wide eyes. "Kaa-chan, why are not a ninja anymore" she._

 _Karura wanted to squish Temari to her bosom again. The pure innocence in this girl was something she had hardly ever witnessed as a shinobi._

 _"Because of you" she softly answered._

 _Temari opened her mouth to protest "Me? I never told you to stop Kaa-chan. Stop lying". Karura giggled at her daughter's ministrations. Temari pouted at being mocked at, and Karura explained appeasingly "Because you were born Temari-chan. Because I married your father and gave birth to you and Kankuro-kun. And because of your upcoming brother. I stopped what I was, to become what I am now- a devoted wife and caring mother. Because I love you"._

 _Temari blushed at her mother's words. She didn't entirely understand it, but she understood what love is. She asked her mother "Kaa-chan, what's marriage? Do you have to stop ninja stuff?"._

 _Karura nodded "Indeed. After marriage one starts a family and has to protect them. One's duty is to their family, and they must perform it with utmost devotion".  
_

 _Temari wrinkled her face "Stop fighting after marriage? I don't want to do that. And I hate boys! They're rude and smelly"._

 _"Every girl has to marry, one day or another. That is how life goes". Temari protested by complaining, and her mother retorted by tickling her. She squirmed and begged for mercy, and the noise woke up her brother Kankuro. He too jumped in and started tickling her. And as if fate had set this day aside for them, their father arrived quickly too. He had one look at what was going on, and joined in, picking up Temari from behind and tickling her._

 _Later when they were all tired and resting their heads on Karura's lap, she felt a kick. She gasped, and urged her husband and children to listen to her stomach. Te trio eagerly pressed their ears to her stomach. They all heard a kick resonate from within, and Temari backed away in shock. "Kaa-chan, why is your stomach kicking us?"_

 _Karura smiled through her tears, clutching her husband's hand "That Temari-chan, Kankuro-kun, is your little brother". Temari smiled at her. It had been the best day ever._

 _Flashback end_

Temari opened her eyes, barely holding back tears. She resolutely looked up to her sensei and nodded. He looked like he wanted to protest, but instead nodded back, his eyes offering an apology. Temari smiled sadly at him. Her aversion to marriage was still as staunch as it was back then, but she had to do her duty. To her village, to her sensei, and most importantly to her family. She would do anything to keep them safe.

She turned to face Lady Chiyo "Who will I be marrying?".

"Uzumaki Naruto" she revealed. Temari's eyes widened in surprise, and slowly shrunk as if she understood the choice.

"Alright. Is that all? Can I leave now?". Baki nodded at her and she left, followed by Kakashi and Anko.

She moved briskly, her brain processing what she had just been told. _'Uzumaki Naruto. Jinchurikki of the Kyubi no Kitsune and son of the Yellow Flash and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero. And that's all I know about him. How the Leaf managed to hide him for so long is unfathomable'._ Temari briefly considered asking the Copy Ninja, but then decided against it. She barely knew him either, and it would be more appropriate to get the answer out of the horse's mouth himself.

She stopped when she realised Kakashi and Anko had stopped walking. "This is where we part" Kakashi informed her. Not knowing what to say, she nodded quietly and left. She took the long way back to her home, wanting to see each and every inch of her motherland before departing for good.

It was nighttime when she reached home. To her surprise, Gaara was waiting for her. "Where have you been?" he asked, standing upright with his arms crossed.

She shrugged "Around".

"Where?" he pushed her.

Temari sighed. She had wanted to hold off telling her brothers about her impending marriage as long as possible. In an uncharacteristic act of bravery, she ignored him and headed off to her bedroom. "Wait" he called after her.

Her eyes slightly widened. Blood-lusted or not, she wasn't sure whether Gaara would like being ignored like he was in the past. But when she turned around to look at him, he seemed almost...in pain. As if he wanted to say something, but couldn't force himself to say it. After a pregnant pause, he asked her "Is anything wrong?". Temari was speechless for the first few seconds. For Gaara to even think about anyone other than himself was a miracle in its own right, let alone enquire about their state of being.

Temari's eyes widened even more this time. For Gaara to act like this...she didn't know what had gotten into him. She wanted nothing more than to tightly hug him. But then she controlled herself. Just because she had caught him off guard once, didn't mean he would let her again. Besides, she didn't want to push him. For now she was content with being cordial.

So she smiled warmly at him "No Gaara, I'm alright. There is something on my mind, though I'll wait till tomorrow to tell you and Kankuro. Where is he by the way?".

"He went to his room as soon as he came. Said something about catching up on his books". Temari wrinkled her nose in disgust at this. Before leaving, she'd have to burn all of Kankuro's porn stash. She failed to see the appeal in scantily-clad woman. Besides, the entire Icha Icha series and its creator were derogatory to women. Just as she was about to open her room door, she felt something wrap around her ankle. She looked down to see what is was, and saw a message in sand: _Goodnight. Your brother Gaara._

Temari gave a genuine smile, happy that her family was finally coming closer.

 _Kazekage Tower_

The dog-masked man moved under the cover of the moonless night. It was just his lack; there was even more darkness for him to hide in. He had spent the entire day reading up on the Temple of Sand. He had masked it by pretending to read his favourite series: Icha Icha. As much as it pained him to be this close to naked woman and not even take a peek, sometimes you had to sacrifice your own needs for the greater good.

He had made his own deductions about its location. Normally, hidden places were nowhere near large population settlements. But Kakashi had based his entire shinobi career on one principal- always look underneath the underneath.

He automatically knew that if such a place existed it would not be too far away from the village. As Suna's equivalent of a Bijju-containment chamber, it would have to be somewhere where the Kazekage could quickly access it. And it would it also have to be out of the common public's eye. Which is why Kakashi was currently inspecting the lower floors of the Kazekage Tower. It caught his attention when he could not feel any source of chakra here, which was strange.

The office of a Kage always housed the most despicable and most protected secrets of a Hidden Village, and here the entirety of the bottom section defenceless. Usually there was at the very least medium-ranking fuinjutsu seals preventing any unauthorised entry, which made him wonder. What if it had been deliberately been kept defenceless as to discourage attention? Any perpetrators would pass by the place as containing nothing of value. But Kakashi wasn't just anyone. He slinked around the area, looking for any secret doors or hidden entrances. He flared his chakra the slightest, not wanting to draw attention.

He would have to traipse a very fine line here. Not only was he sneaking into an ally's confidential territory without their knowledge or permission, he was doing it without the knowledge of his own partner. When they had reached the quarters provided to them, they did not know how to react. It was a small house, not far from the house of the trio they were assigned to. Well, house was too flattering a term. It had only one room, a kitchen and a bathroom. Oh, and there was only one bedroom. After an extensive search of the house for any traps or the sort, they set about implementing their own defensive measures- hidden shuriken, senbon, kunai and some explosive seals around the perimeter of their lodgings. Currently, there was a shadow clone of Kakashi awkwardly sharing a bed with Anko. After he was sure she had fallen asleep, he had made one take its place and snuck out.

He kept looking for any clue, anything which looked out of place, anything that shouldn't be there. But he found nothing. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. And Kakashi's patience kept edging away. In a couple hours, the staff would show up. His partner might wake up. His absence might be noted. And something might happen to Anko. _'No. I won't let another comrade die._ As the real Kakashi pressed his ear to the walls, he heard nothing. Then he tried again. This time he applied chakra to his ear. His heart momentarily stopped beating. The faintest of thuds could be heard resonating from beyond the wall. _'So that's the trick_ _'_ he understood. He slowly applied chakra to all his senses. His sense of smell could sniff out the slightest of candle wax. He could taste the acrid odor of burnt ash on his tongue. _'There's definitely something behind this wall. Something that shouldn't be here. I don't see any point in applying chakra to my eyes as the Sharingan can't look through walls. But if I applied chakra through my other eye...?'._ Warming up to the idea he tried it out, and almost gasped at what he saw. There was an intricate seal situated on this wall that Jiraiya himself would've been proud of.

Thankfully Kakashi had been taught intermediate level sealing by his sensei, otherwise he'd have been stumped at the mere sight of this pattern. _'This mosaic closely resembles the Uzumaki seals. Nidaime-sama said Suna's honorable siblings were seal masters. This is no doubt a contraption of theirs'._ Kakashi poured some chakra onto the wall. Immediately the seal turned visible, emitting a neon-green hue. He remembered a conversation between Jiraiya-sama and Minato-sensei about high level fuinjutsu. They had discussed a new invention- a type of seal that was nigh-impenetrable. Only a few people were privy to the very existence of such a seal. There was no possible way to physically break the seal down, Tsunade-sama herself was said to have confirmed it. But there was a weakness. A very obscure secret, but a weakness indeed. If a counter-seal was applied at one spot, one particular spot the entire seal would unravel.

And he remembered his sensei and his own sensei having found one. But first he would have to refill his chakra. Thankfully he had brought along a chakra storage seal. His eyes shone with pride as he used his own student's invention. It worked by absorbing background energy in the atmosphere. The rate of chakra absorption was rather slow but it was enough. The one in Kakashi's hands had as much chakra as him, and he had five more just like it.

He slapped the seal onto himself. Muttering the release seal, he instantly felt the rejuvenating effect of his chakra levels being filled to the brim. He formed a shadow clone, and they started scouring the intricate seal. Kakashi would've made more, but he didn't want to risk any extra chakra, not when he was in a foreign, hostile nation. After all, alliances were only worth the paper they were signed on.

Just as Kakashi and his clone finished the outer level of the seal, he felt a sudden spike in chakra, and it was coming toward him at an alarmingly quick rate. And he could feel it coming from behind the barrier. He dispelled his clone and stopped outsourcing his chakra to the seal. It immediately disappeared, and he took one last scan of his surroundings. Not finding any clues he he may have left behind, he shun-shined away.

And it was well that he did, for a hair of a second later Lady Chiyo arrived to the scene. She had felt an unusually large amount of chakra at night. She knew that no one except the cleaners visited this area of the tower; on paper that is. She could feel the lingering remnants of someone's chakra but couldn't pinpoint its progenitor. That was strange. She could recognise the chakra of pretty much every Sand shinobi. That means some outsider had gained access to this region. The only outsiders in Suna not under surveillance were the duo from Konoha. Seems like she was not the only one with secrets...

 _Tanzaku Gai_

Naruto groaned, the hangover from last night finally registering. He cursed Jiraiya. If the stupid old pervert hadn't coerced him into sipping a bit of sake he would not be suffering the massive headache as he was now. One sip had turned into two sips, which eventually led to a boatload of sake. He got up, nursing his head in pain. Speaking of Jiraiya, where was he? The last thing Naruto remembered from the previous night was being convinced by Jiraiya to sleep at the hotel, and then it was all a haze. That didn't really matter to Naruto now. All that mattered was finding the man and bonking the hell out of him for letting a thirteen year old get drunken off his ass.

He tried to form a clone. To his surprise, he couldn't. He tried again. Nothing happened. He tried harder this time, even trying to contact the stupid fox. Naruto didn't get a single response. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't feel his chakra at all. He knew that his bijju was still sealed within him, the process of unsealing a Tailed Beast much more time-consuming than one night and almost always fatal to the carrier.

But try as he may, he just couldn't reach his tenant. He closed his eyes and tried to visualise himself in the sewer where the fox resided. Instead, all he got was this weird ringing in his noise and a bright white light almost blinding him. Snapping out of his sub-conscious he opened his eyes and looked around the room. Not seeing Jiraiya he decided to try Shizune's room. Just then the woman herself barged into the room, looking highly distraught. "Naruto-kun, I'm glad you're awake. I need your help. Jiraiya-sama is not well". She didn't explain what exactly was not well with him and raced back to her room. Naruto barely managed to keep track, his movements becoming increasingly sluggish.

He somehow made it to the room on both feet. Turning the doorknob, he staggered through to see his godfather resting on the bed, leaning against some pillows plopped on the headrest. Jiraiya's eyes were hazy and his breathing shallow. He coughed out "Tsunade-hime's slipped in a chakra repressant into our food".

"What!? But where is she now?".

"Shizune looked at him sadly "We don't know. She's probably gone to meet Orochimaru".

"And we have no time to lose" Jiraiya answered. "Shizune, lend me a hand and we'll get going. Naruto, are you coming?". The boy nodded and closed his eyes, attempting to regain control of himself. This time, he tried accessing the sewer and held his ground, not fleeing when the blinding white light hit him. Eventually it receded, scarcely but enough. Naruto could hear the gigantic bellows of the Nine-Tailed Fox **"NARUTO! CAN YOU HEAR ME!"**.

"I can now Kurama, but there's this white light blocking you".

 **"That must be to prevent you from using my own chakra"** Kurama inferred. **"I'll try my best to overpower it, though that Slug Sannin has concocted quite the concoction"**.

He opened his eyes to see Jiraiya and Shizune waiting expectantly for him. He nodded and the triad left, two out of the three running on sheer grit and will.

 _Outskirts of Tanzaku Gai_

The remaining members of the Sannin stared each other down. Then, the Slug Sannin spoke "I'll do it". The corners of Orochimaru's lips curled upwards into a malicious sneer, as his former teammate approached him guardedly, her brown eyes surveying the are for any signs of a set-up. Her hands were about to touch his..

And then it happened in a flash.

Kabuto appeared out of nowhere and threw a kunai, preventing the two from coming into contact. Tsunade flew away with her back to them, and Kabuto filled in the space between the two.

"How is that your answer?" Orochimaru slurred. "To try to think you'd kill me...At any rate, I have a sincere trust in you, Kabuto. A trust for your loyalty and your eyes that spotted Tsunade's attack".

Tsunade silently cursed him _'How the hell did he figure it out? Only a highly-qualified medic-nin should be able to identify it'_.

Kabuto answered her question "Yes. We're both from the same medical corps so I immediately spotted her chakra was overflowing with violent intent. He saw the blonde woman's eyes widen in shock and smirked. It wasn't everyday you were acknowledge by someone on the level of 'The Legendary Three'.

Orochimaru addressed her "Tsunade...I really was planning on resurrecting those two people. And here I went so far as to promise not to smash the Leaf".

Tsunade's eyes turned slightly watery. "Orochimaru, I knew that your promise of 'not touching the village' was a lie". She began to tremble slightly, "Even though I knew that...I..." Orochimaru leered cruelly at the pathetic sight of his once mighty teammate. Tsunade bit her lip, "Just one more time would've been fine...to see them..to touch them...to see those smiling faces. But" she wept, as she remembered their smiling faces "the moment I felt that rush in my bones that I'd be able to see Dan and Nawaki shortly, I realised I am a hopeless fool. Just by remembering those faces I became this blinded. I loved them, I truly loved them! So I wanted to see them and hug them in my arms!" she held herself as she sobbed on her sleeves. "But...I couldn't..." she remembered Naruto's determination _'I won't lose the bet, no matter_ _what!'_. "Because of that kid...I remembered the dreams of the two. Here I was trying to forget the precious dreams that they risked their lives for. Making those dreams come true was also my desire. Things that have formed eventually decay...you used to say that to me" Dan and Nawaki's faces again swept across her mind. She opened her tear-filled eyes "But after all, these are feelings that won't decay".

Orochimaru understood the meaning of her words. "So our negotiations have broken down. It cannot be helped. Since it's come to this, I have no choice but to ask forcibly..". Tsunade wiped off her tears and hardened her gaze, mentally readying herself for what was about to happen. She charged them and jumped high, her upraised foot aimed at them. The two dodged and fell back, her strike deforming the very Earth they were standing on. "Come Orochimaru" she challenged him.

"Come to think of it, we've never gone at it even once until now" Orochimaru realised as she took off her green kimono and ran at them. "That's right" he agreed with her. Kabuto questioned him "What're you saying? I'm the one who has to go at it with her, right?".

Tsunade yelled "Now I'm going to kill you two worthless punks right here!". She punched the wall they were standing on and smashed it to smithereens. The two Sound ninjas jumped back onto a tree. "Incredible strength as usual" Orochimaru analysed, "It'll be over if you're hit once" he informed Kabuto.

"I can see that" his lieutenant retorted. "It's a bit cramped here for fighting at a distance".

Orochimaru looked at him from the corner of his eye "Are you going to change the location?".

"That would probably be better" Kabuto decided. "After all, there is bound to another powerful person with Tsunade-sama's attendant. That person may come to her aid".

Tsunade joined them on the tree branch. They dodged her strikes and fell back further as she hit the branch they were standing on. "You're going down!" she declared as she chased them. "Is it him then?" Orochimaru asked Kabuto as they led her away from the town.

"One of the Densetsu Sannin like yourself and Tsunade-sama".

Orochimaru smiled evilly "Jiraiya". He danced over a wall as Tsunade crushed it with one punch.

She took a rock and crushed it in her fist "I won't let you get away, no matter what!".

 _30 minutes later, same location_

Naruto inspected the heavy damage to the area "Who did this?".

Jiraiya answered without looking at him "Tsunade-hime tore it up big time".

Shizune was thankful _'This means that Tsunade-sama refused'_

Naruto asked them "Where could the old lady have gone then?". He noticed her green kimono and alerted the others of it.

Shizune turned to her best friend "Tonton, which way?". The piglet sniffed the item and oinked towards their north-west. Shizune picked her up as they rushed in that general direction.

 _At the same time_

The three arrived in a clearing, mapped between the small town and the surrounding forest. Tsunade landed on the ground, causing an impact crater from her landing. Orochimaru noticed her coughing "It looks like you too are quite out of breath Tsunade. It's just about time" he looked at Kabuto who was panting in front of him.

The boy took out a miniscule pill from his pouch and ingested it. Tsunade immediately recognised it _'That's a food pill!'_

Kabuto confessed something "I'm not that great at taijutsu, but this should suffice". He whizzed through hand-seals.

Again Tsunade's expert medical ability allowed her to recognise what her opponent was doing, and she was both shocked and impressed at the same time. _'Those hand seals! That can only mean one thing'._ Two flaming sabres formed around Kabuto's hand, his expression was much more serious and composed.

Suddenly, he slipped inside the Earth. Tsunade anticipated his move and jumped up to avoid his fist and reached down with her own punch to strike him. He skilfully dodged and moved to the side. Tsunade rushed after him and launched a kick, which he side-stepped and allowed to break the giant slab of rock behind him.

Tsunade somersaulted backwards to avoid his blow, only to be surprised as he showed up near her left hip. He slapped her left shoulder and hamstring and steered clear of her reactionary jab. He smickered as she lost control of her left arm and thigh. She gritted her teeth in _'He got my muscles'_.

He explained his move "I severed, ever so slightly the bicep muscle of your upper arm and the rectus muscle of your thigh. Now you won't be able to release your incredible strength".

"Chakra scalpel eh?" asked him. "Why not go for the arteries?".

Kabuto elaborated "Indeed, with this scalpel I could cut the muscles and vessels without external energy". He raised one of his chakra-coated fists "But as may be expected, I cannot make a long, delicate scalpel in the middle of battle that can reach the arteries and the heart muscle". His glasses shone, shrouding his eyes as he ran "But even so, there'd be no problem if I target the opponent's neck!". He lashed out at Tsunade's neck, and she leaned backwards, bringing up her foot to counter him. He jumped cleanly over her, and swiped his hand down at her throat. She moved away, and to her horror, felt his palm thump her chest. She fell to her knees, clutching her bosom. She groaned _'Dang it! My intercostals got hit. My breathing...He's no ordinary medical ninja. His jutsu sense and his edge exceed even me in my heyday!'._

"It would still be trouble if you were to die on me" he said. He refitted his glasses "I won't target your vital spot, but with this you can't move anymore.." he didn't have time to finish his sentence as his adversary snuck up behind him and launched a devastating haymaker, sending him flying. He landed hard on the ground. Gritting his teeth, he looked up at her _'She's amazing. Ordinarily one wouldn't be able to budge due to difficulty breathing'._ He noticed her collapse onto the ground and clutch her heart. _'Looks like it will be necessary to rough her up a little more'_ he somehow got up, turning to face her _'but not enough to kill her'._ He tried to haul himself up but what he discovered flabbergasted him. He tried moving his hand again and failed. _'Even though I'm trying to move my hand, my leg_ moves?!'. He slightly gasped as he grew conscious of what had occurred. _'D Don't tell me! This is..'_ again his thoughts were prematurely cut short by a punch to the face.

Tsunade breathed heavily as she watched him lugged across the ground. _'In my present condition this seems to be the extent of my power'._ Kabuto tried to move but his limbs would not respond to his command, instead jerking around haphazardly. Orochimaru recognised what his minion was hit by, "I see. For her to pull out such a thing even in this state, seems like she hasn't completely lost it".

Kabuto gritted his teeth as he tried, and failed to get up _'It's..it's not the muscles...it's the nerves'_.

Tsunade clutched her arm, panting for oxygen. "It seems you've realised. I attacked your nerves, not your muscles. I converted chakra into electricity, made an electric field and poured electricity into your nerves".

This was not unnoticed by her former teammate, _'The communication between the brain and the body is all done with electric signals. Tsunade jumbled up all of the electrical signals that are exchanged at a velocity of 360 km/hr. Ingenious'._

Kabuto was having a hard time believing what had occurred _'Having left battle and yet such power...So this is the Legendary Sannin'._

Tsunade formed handseals for a healing jutsu and applied it to herself. She analysed her own condition _'Healing types use too much chakra, but in this condition I have no choice'._

Whilst she patched herself up, Kabuto closed his eyes and tried to move his limbs one by one. He memorised which limb moved when he tried to move another. _'If I try to move my right hand my left leg moves. If I try to move my left ankle my right shoulder moves'._ He continued this until he had control of about 80% of his body. It would be difficult, but not too much of a hindrance. He opened his eyes "Don't mess with me using such low level jutsu". He grabbed a kunai from his pouch and spun around to charge Tsunade, who was still healing herself. Her eyes widened in alarm _'What?! In only a moment his body movements have been restored!'._

Kabuto ran at her, dragging his kunai across the ground. "You're scared of blood aren't you?! I'll treat you to a pool of it!". He moved to slash the kunai. Just then a purple fog enveloped them and he was forced to retreat. Orochimaru tenses; he had a very good hunch who was behind that purple mist.

The mist wafted away to reveal the remaining member of the Sannin with a small pig perched atop his shoulder. Flanking him were his own apprentice and the apprentice of the Slug Princess.

Orochimaru welcomed him "It's been a long time Jiraiya".

The man smirked in return "I see you've got that evil look as usual".

Their apprentices looked at each other. Naruto growled, having a score left to settle with him. "I take it you would like to reacquaint yourself with little Kabuto-kun here" Jiraiya said, still facing down his former teammate.

Tsunade emerged from behind, having finished healing herself. She threw Jiraiya out of the way, who was still weakened from the chakra drug. "Get out of the way! I'll take them!" She leaped into the air and launched a flying kick at Kabuto, who slid away and retreated. Tsunade gave chase to him. "Just because you've mastered your movements doesn't mean you can move like normal!" she launched a series of taijutsu attacks against him. He dodged them all but was backed onto a giant stone. "I won't let you get away now!". She swung her fist to bash his skull in. But Kabuto beat her by a mili-second, slashing his kunai and drawing blood.

The blood spattered across Tsunade's face. The repugnant sensation of blood on her skin paralysed her. Kabuto used it as an opening, kicking her in the gut and sending her flying backwards. She fell atop Shizune, who desperately tried to heal her.

Naruto decided to enter the fray. He formed a handseal and saw 4 others like him pop into existence. _'Is this the best I can do?'._ He tried to activate his Sharingan, but found the chakra passageways still blocked. He would have to battle with taijutsu alone. Naruto saw Kabuto's bleeding right hand, and decided to attack from there. His clones converged around Kabuto, who's eyes spinned trying to locate the orignal. "Forward, behind, up, left"

"Right" the real Naruto spoke as delivered a chop to his hand and his other clones attacked him from the other directions.

"Why you little" Kabuto snarled as he clenched his bleeding arm and dodged the strikes of the clones. He saw the original come at him from behind and turned around, slinging his blood into his opponent's eyes. The real Naruto was momentarily blindsided, and Kabuto utilised this opportunity to eliminate his clones. The clones attacked him all at once, and Kabuto made a clone of himself.

His slightly superior taijutsu won out by the time the original had clawed the blood out of his eyes, his own blood pouring out of his eyes now. He attacked Kabuto, who threw a shuriken at him which multiplied into numerous shuriken. Naruto wasted a few precious moments blocking and dodging them, by which time Kabuto had dispelled his own shadow clone and healed himself. Naruto sped towards him with his fist outreached. Kabuto dodged it and lashed out with a kick to the mid-section, sending another opponent flying into Shizune's arms.

She caught the boy and spit a pair of senbon at the gray-haired man's forehead. Kabuto recognised them _'Poison senbon! My neural reflexes haven't returned yet!"._ Somehow, he deflected them using his hitaite. He then somersaulted behind his master.

Jiraiya praised him "Good job, acting so quickly".

Shizune applied a healing jutsu to Naruto's eyes, stopping the blood leakage. She saw her opponent swallow a small black ball. She immediately recognised it as a Plasma Pill.

"So you're trying to replenish lost blood huh?" Jiraiya asked, having apprehended what he was trying to do.

Tsunade spoke from her crouched position "That brat is a medical ninja like Shizune and myself".

On the opposing side, Kabuto turned to his lord. "Orochimaru-sama, please take off the bandage on your left arm". The Snake Sannin ripped the bandage open with his fangs.

Jiraiya smirked at him "So finally the real thing appears". He turned back to Shizune "You take care of that brat with the glasses", he looked back at Orochimaru "Orochimaru is mine. But before that, I'd like Tsunade-hime to do something about my body".

Shizune bowed her head "The effects of that drug might still last for a while. There's nothing that can be done about it".

Jiraiya shook his head "Really? Jeez. Well I guess I'll have to kill Orochimaru without using any chakra then". The man in question heard the jibe and ignored it, not wanting to fall victim to Jiraiya's goading again. "Tsunade" Jiraiya said "you rest yourself using the Recovery Jutsu".

His godson turned to him "And I?"

Jiraiya stared straight ahead "You protect Tsunade-hime with Tonton". Seeing Naruto's outraged face he added "No buts! Tsunade is currently vulnerable. She needs your protection. Besides, this fight is out of your level. The man before you is a Sannin like myself, and a rival of the Third Hokage himself. Only I can fight him. That Kabuto possesses the same level of power as Kakashi". Naruto tightened his jaw and turned around, acknowledging his godfather was correct.

Kabuto straightened his glasses, "Now that all the pleasantries have been exchanged, let's begin". Both he and Jiraiya it into their hands and and swiped the blood across their palm, or in Kabuto's case across Orochimaru's palm, raced through hand-seals and then slammed their hand onto the ground, bellowing "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!". A black mosaic appeared where they struck the earth, and two plumes of smoke formed.

As the smoke scattered at a snail's crawl, the two parties eyed each other apprehensively, wondering who would make the first move. Eventually the fumes completely dispersed. Jiraiya gasped at what he saw. How could he he have summoned...

 **AN: HAHAHA! Leaving this chapter here since it was getting too big. I though of creating some mystery.**

 **I've been getting some complaints of not fully revealing Naruto's personality. Don't get your knickers in a twist, mates. I'll do it in the next chapter for sure.**

 **On the other hand, please do check out my other stories. There's a new one I've made called Genesis of the Leaf and another Flash fanfiction. I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give those stories half the support you've given this.**

 **OH! I also have another announcement to make. We've finally hit 20K views! I want to thank everyone that's stuck with me since the beginning. I feel like I've grown as a writer as the story has progressed.**

 **And finally, review, favourite and follow the story if you like it. Asta La Vista Baby!**


	9. Announcement

Hello guys,

sorry for the long absence. I've had some things I needed to sort out. But now I am back and raring to go! I'll try to get a new chapter up before the end of next week. Thank you everyone who's ever read, favourited or reviewed any of my stories. And if you ever have any suggestions, please feel free to PM me.

Adios!


End file.
